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CHOICE CONSOLATION 



FOR THE 



SUFFERING CHILDREN OF GOD. 



COMPILED FROM THE WRITINGS OF LEIGHTON, ROMAINE, 
CECIL, NEWTON, WINSLOW, ETC., ETC. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION 



BY THE 



RT. REV. MANTON EASTBURN, D. D. 




BOSTON: 
E. P. BUTTON AND COMPANY, 

106 Washington Street. 
1864. 



.vv°° 



2 i. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by 

E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Mas- 
sachusetts. 



i i* I i£ 



RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY H. 0. HOUGHTON. 






PREFACE. 



rpHE compiler of the following pages, long 
trained in the school of affliction, has 
learned, through a fellowship in suffering, to 
feel the deepest sympathy for " all those 
who in this transitory life are afflicted or 
distressed in mind, body, or estate." The 
power to express that sympathy by minis- 
tering in person at the couch of sickness, 
or in the house of the mourner, being 
denied to her, through physical weakness, 
she sends forth this book in the earnest 
hope it may reach and comfort many dear 
children of God who may be "for a season 
in heaviness through manifold temptations." 
May the Lord send home its words of 
strong faith and " lofty cheer " with much 
power and sweetness to many, many sorrow- 
ing hearts. c. 

Boston, Nov. 23, 1863. 



Note. — The profits derived from the sale of this book 
are to be devoted by the compiler to the relief of sick and 
destitute persons. 




— ♦— 

PAGE 

Trust in God the only adequate Support in Trial 11 
Extract of a Letter written by the Rev. Henry 

Venn 13 

The Way and Rest of Israel 14 

The Heavenly Rest 15 

Letter of TV r m. Romaine to an Afflicted Friend 16 
Growth in Grace not to be measured by Active 

Service alone 17 

Here am I 20 

Dr. Arnold's Tribute to his Sister 21 

Looking unto Jesus 22 

Blessings of Sickness 24 

Edward Bickersteth's Letter to his Invalid Daugh- 
ter 25 

The Benefits of Affliction 26 

A Sabbath Hymn for a Sick- Chamber 29 

Trials are ill to bear 31 

Submission to the Will of God 34 

The Love of Christ in the Sufferings of his Dis- 
ciples 34 

Suffering 37 

To an Aifficted Lady 39 

A Voice from Heaven • 40 

Bishop Wilson on Affliction 42 

Glorifying God in Affliction 44 

" Cometh Sunshine after Rain " 45 



vi Contents. 

PAGE 

Proofs of Sanctified Affliction 47 

Thoughts of Heaven 50 

A Dark Present and a Glorious Future 51 

" Cast all your care upon Him " 54 

Divine Providence in Sorrow and Affliction • • • • 55 

Mrs. H. B. Stowe on Affliction 57 

On Bereavement 59 

Last Words of Samuel Rutherford 61 

The Christian's Home 64 

Leighton on Affliction 6Q 

Extract from a Letter of Mr. Norton's to Mrs. 

Hemans on the Death of her Mother 69 

Sickness like Night 70 

Extract of a Letter of Mr. Cecil to Mrs. Hawkes 71 

Extract from the Diary of Mrs. Hawkes 72 

The Dying Christian's Prayer 74 

Religion in Sickness 77 

Peace in Trouble 79 

" There were no feeble persons among all their 

tribes" 80 

Upon Sickness 84 

Deadness in Prayer 87 

Upon Death * 90 

The Preciousness of God's Children 92 

" O Lord, how Happy should we be " 94 

" He bore our Sicknesses " 95 

Letter of the Rev. W. Romaine. 96 

Extract from the Memoir of the Rev. Henry 

Martyn 98 

" Jesus, help Conquer ! " 99 

The Heavenly Jerusalem 101 

" One sweetly solemn thought " 104 

Comfort in Sorrow 106 



*■ * 



Contents, vii 

PAGE 

The Service of Suffering 108 

" Go not far from me, O my strength " Ill 

Resignation • 114 

" The Loved and Lost ! " 115 

The Dark Angel 119 

On Bereavement 120 

The Angel of Patience 121 

The Happiness of the Christian 122 

" When Summer suns their radiance fling " 126 

On Submission to God's Will in Sickness 128 

Bishop Wilberforce on Sickness 129 

" Source of my Life's refreshing Springs " 131 

Suggestions to the Invalid • • 132 

On Bereavement > 133 

Streams in the Desert • 135 

Beyond the River 138 

Thoughts for Sad Hours 139 

The Invalid's Sunday Hymn 142 

Suffering, a higher Path then Doing 144 

" Yes, there remaineth yet a rest ! " 145 

Trust in God brings Peace 147 

The final Regeneration • 149 

" Oh, what a mighty change " 150 

Letter' of Mrs. Hemans 151 

Tearless Eyes 152 

" Oh Mother dear, Jerusalem ! " 154 



* ; * 



INTRODUCTION. 



THHE following selection was made by a 
lady who, having found rich comfort 
under sorrow in the treasures of Christian 
thought she has here collected, and reason- 
ably supposing they might prove a source of 
peace to others, has in this compilation per- 
formed a work of true sympathy and love. 
I have read the volume, and feel sure it will 
be generally regarded as having been judi- 
ciously executed. Its author has been long 
known and highly valued by me ; and I com- 
mend her book, with fervent prayer for the 
divine blessing, to all those who, in this world 
of alternate darkness and sunshine, " are in 
trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other 
adversity." manton eastbuhn. 

Boston, Nov. 16, 1863. 




CHOICE CONSOLATION. 



TRUST IN GOD THE ONLY ADEQUATE SUPPORT 
IN TRIAL. 

ONE adequate support 
For the calamities of mortal life 
Exists, — one only : an assured belief 
That the procession of our fate, howe'er 
Sad or disturbed, is ordered by a Being 
Of infinite benevolence and power, 
Whose everlasting purposes embrace 
All accidents, converting them to good. 
The darts of anguish fix not where the seat 
Of suffering hath been throughly fortified 
By acquiescence in the Will Supreme 
For time and for eternity ; by faith — 
Faith absolute in God ; including hope, 
And the defence that lies in boundless love 
Of his perfections ; with habitual dread 
Of aught unworthily conceived, endured 
Impatiently, ill done, or left undone, 
To the dishonor of his holv name. 
Come labor, when the worn-out frame re- 
quires 



12 Choice Consolation. 

Perpetual Sabbath ; come disease and want, 
And sad exclusion through decay of sense ; 
But leave me unabated trust in thee, — 
And let thy favor, to the end of life, 
Inspire me with ability to seek 
Repose and hope among eternal things, — 
Father of heaven and earth ! and I am rich, 
And will possess my portion in content. 

Wordsworth. 



/CERTAIN it is that the saints whom God 
^ has most approved, have been most 
abundantly exercised in different manners 
for the trial of their faith ; and they who are 
most earnest in prayer for grace, are often 
most afflicted, because the graces which they 
pray for, e. g. faith, hope, patience, humility, 
&c, are only to be wrought in us by means 
of those trials which call forth the several 
graces into act and exercise ; and in the very 
exercise of them they are all strengthened 
and confirmed. Simeon. 



ONE of the best helps in sorrow and 
trouble is to visit people in affliction. 

Adams. 



Choice Consolation. 13 



EXTKACT FROM A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE 
REV. HENRY VENN. 

HAVE found often much comfort and 
A rest to my soul in that Scripture, " Run 
with patience the race that is set before us." 
When men run for the prize, all the ground 
is measured out for them, which they are to 
go over. Thus it is with Christians. The 
Lord's people, from the womb to the grave, 
have all their several places, for their child- 
hood, their youth, their riper years, to the 
hour of their death, as well as the cause and 
manner of it, appointed in infinite wisdom 
and in everlasting love to their souls. And 
there is a set time how long their friends 
shall remain with them ; what they shall do 
in their favor ; also, what crosses and disap- 
pointments and ill usage they shall meet with, 
and from what quarter it all shall come. 
This race, set thus, we are to run with pa- 
tience ; not fretting or murmuring ; not de- 
sponding or doubting the goodness and love 
of the Great Ordainer of all our lot ; not 
even presuming to wish there w r as any alter- 
ation in our circumstances, unless God is 
pleased to bring it to pass. It is a great 
part of the spiritual worship due to him, and 



14 Choice Consolation. 

by which we honor him, thus to commit 
without carefulness all our affairs into his 
hands ; and when we do so, he has promised 
his peace shall rule in our hearts. 



THE WAY AND REST OF ISRAEL. 

1. 
V17HEN Israel reached their home at last, 
' ^ And 'neath their vines and fig-trees lay, 
How sweetly, all their perils past, 

Must they have mused upon God's way ! 
What at the time seemed hard to bear, 
Then could they clearly understand ; 
And how a Father's love and care 

Each portion of their wanderings plann'd. 

2. 

Thus, if we reach that heavenly place, 

No snare to fear, no wars to wage, 
Then shall we see how heavenly grace 

Led us throughout our pilgrimage ; 
How needful was each care and cross ; 

How wisely our own way denied ; 
How mercy shielded us from loss, 

How right the way, how true the Guide. 



Choice Consolation. 15 

3. 
How sweet to understand his way ; 

What now we know not, then to know ; 
And yield the tribute of our praise 

For what mysterious seemed below. 
Lord, lead us to that place of rest, 

And from our own fond w r ill defend ; 
Thou knowest what for us is best, 

Who knowest both the way and end. 



THE HEAVENLY BEST. 

T)EST ! how sweet the sound ! It is mel- 
-" ody to my ears ! It lies as a reviving 
cordial at my heart, and from thence sends 
forth lively spirits, which beat through all 
the pulses of my soul ! Rest, — not as the 
stone that rests on the earth, nor as this 
flesh shall rest in the grave, nor such a rest 
as the carnal world desires. O blessed rest ! 
when we rest not day and night, saying, 
" Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! "— 
when we shall rest from sin, but not from 
worship, — from suffering and sorrow, but 
not from joy ! O blessed day ! when I shall 
rest in the bosom of my Lord ! — when I 



16 Choice Consolation. 

shall rest in knowing, loving, rejoicing, and 
praising, — when my perfect soul and body 
shall together perfectly enjoy the most per- 
fect God ! 



LETTER WRITTEN" BY ROMAINE TO AN" 
AFFLICTED FRIEND. 

npHAT you suffer seems grievous to the 
-*- flesh. I sympathize with you ; but I 
also find the Lord is with you, supports you ; 
yea, he comforts you : therein I do rejoice. 
My prayer is for much patience under his 
hand, and much profit from his rod. Let 
me direct your attention to Hebrews xii., 
from the 5th verse to the 14th. The whole 
matter turns upon the character of the per- 
son who afflicts. Is it in wrath or in love ? 
Does he punish as a judge, or correct as a 
father ? Mind how^ the sentence begins. 
My son, keep this upon your heart : You 
have fled to Jesus ; you have taken the ben- 
efit of his atonement and of his righteous- 
ness ; you are therefore the adopted child 
of the most high God. And you must not 
think he changes his love when he changes 
his dispensations. He is always your Father. 



Choice Consolation. 17 

And say, his rod is for the present not joyous 
but grievous ; yet, mind, (verse 11th,) it 
only seemeth ; the flesh seems to be hurt, but 
really it is not: it is only in appearance. 
Look nearer : you may easily see love send- 
ing, love inflicting ; and wait a little : you 
will have reason to thank your Father for 
the blessed fruits of his love. If you live, 
you will find them very rich and ripe. 



GROWTH IN GRACE NOT TO BE MEASURED BY 
ACTIVE SERVICE ALONE. 

TT7E must not measure our attainments in 
' " piety by palpable usefulness, or the stir 
of beneficent action, however much this may 
be our duty. The grand affair of life is the 
building up of the spiritual temple. We may 
disparage the power that is operating within. 
It is the common mistake of retired and 
suffering Christians. Because they are not 
called to public manifestations, they think 
there is no advancement. But knowledge 
may be rising in a compact and solid struct- 
ure. Faith may be diffusing its mighty in- 
fluence on every side. Holy devotion may 
be sending up clouds of incense acceptable to 



18 Choiee Consolation. 

God. Intercessory prayer may be stretching 
its arms of love to take in all the brother- 
hood of Christ, and all the family of man. 
Purity, like that of Jesus, may be rising as 
a picture on the soul's tablet, dim perhaps, 
but brightening. Submission to God's chas- 
tening hand may be gaining strength in the 
furnace. The world may be waning, and 
the attractions of heaven waxing more lumi- 
nous. Joy in the Lord may be as the fra- 
grance of a field which God hath blessed ; 
and gentle humility, the ornament and pre- 
servative of all graces, may be growing more 
constant. Is all this nothing ? Is it not the 
very process to which our Master calls us ? 
It is he that maketh that which is within. 
Such reflections are needful for many a soli- 
tary believer who sighs to think that no op- 
portunity is given for great deeds in God's 
behalf. " They also serve who only stand 
and wait." There may be progress, even 
where there is no joy. Inward, inward must 
we go for the true elaboration of gracious 
virtues. Let this be strongly impressed on 
those whose circle is bounded by the walls 
of a narrow home. Let the bereaved lonely 
one, let the invalid who is cut off from all 
social labor, know and believe that to them 



* .] 

Choice Consolation. 19 

also is granted to glorify God as truly as to 
the king or to the apostle. Let them cease 
to measure the work of grace by the external 
standards of a human activity, j. Alexander. 



"DAYS ON once wrote to a friend thus : 
-*- " A man now fills the throne of heaven. 
And who is this man ? Mark it well : it 
is a man who is not ashamed to call you 
6 brother.' You may not now know what he 
is doing with you, but you shall know here- 
after : you shall see the reason of all the 
trials and temptations, the dark and comfort- 
less hours, the long and tedious conflicts, and 
you will be convinced that not a sigh, not a 
single uneasy thought, was allotted to you 
without a wise and gracious design." 



TN the time of suffering, no alternative 
A remains but whether we will aggravate 
the present evil by murmuring and repining, 
or change it into a real blessing by receiving 
it as we ought. 



20 Choice Consolation. 



HERE AM I. 

1. 

"jl/TY will would like a life of ease, 
^-*- And power to do, and time to rest, — 
And health and strength my will would please, 
But, Lord, I know thy will is best. 

2. 
If I have strength to do thy will, 

That should be power enough for me ; 
Whether to work or to sit still 

The appointment of the day may be. 

3. 

And if by sickness I may grow 
More patient, holy, and resigned, 

Strong health I need not wish to know, 
And greater ease I cannot find. 

4. 
And rest — I need not seek it here, 

For perfect rest remaineth still : 
When in thy presence we appear, 

Rest shall be given by thy will. 



-K-* 



Choice Consolation. 21 

5. 
Lord, I have given my life to thee, 

And every day and hour is thine ; 
"What thou appoint est let them be : 

Thy will is better, Lord, than mine. 



DR. ARNOLD'S TRIBUTE TO HIS SISTER. 

I never saw a more perfect instance of the 
spirit of power and of love and of a sound 
mind, — hitense love almost to the annihila- 
tion of selfishness, — a daily martyrdom for 
twenty years, during which she adhered to 
her early formed resolution of never talking 
about herself; thoughtful about the very 
pins and ribbons of my wife's dress, about 
the making of a doll's cap for a child, but of 
herself (save only as regarded her ripening 
in all goodness) wholly thoughtless ; enjoy- 
ing everything lovely, graceful, beautiful, 
high-minded, whether in God's works or 
man's, with the keenest relish ; inheriting 
the earth to the very fulness of the promise, 
though never leaving her crib, nor changing 
her posture ; and preserved through the 
very valley of the shadow of death from all 

* * 



22 Choice Consolation. 

fear or impatience, or from every cloud of 
impaired reason which might mar the beauty 
of Christ's glorious work. May God grant 
that I may come within one hundred degrees 
of her place in glory. 



LOOKING UNTO JESUS. 



npHOU, Lord, my path shall choose, 

And my guide be ; 
What shall I fear to lose, 

While I have thee ? 
This be my portion blest : 
On my Redeemer's breast 
In peaceful trust to rest : 

He cares for me. 

2. 

Shall I, then, choose my way ? 

Never, O no ! 
I, a creature of a day, 

What can I know ? 
What dread perplexity 
Then would encompass me ! 
Now I can look to thee ; 

Thou orderest so. 



•?»- 



Choice Consolation. 23 

3. 

This lightens every cross — 

Cheers every ill ; 
Suffer I grief or loss, 

It is thy will ; 
Who can make no mistake 
Chooseth the way I take ; 
He who can ne'er forsake 

Holds mine hand still. 

4 

Christ died my love to win ; 

Christ is mv tower ; 
He will be with me in 

Each trying hour. 
He makes the wounded whole ; 
He will my heart console ; 
He will uphold my soul 

By his own power. 

5. 

To thee, the only Wise, 

Whatever be, 
I will lift up mine eyes, 

Joyful in thee. 
This be my portion blest, — 
On my Redeemer's breast 



24 Choice Consolation. 



In peaceful trust to rest ; 
He cares for me. 



BLESSINGS OF SICKNESS. 

VT7HO knows the blessing of health fully 
* ' that has never suffered from the want 
of it ? And yet sickness has its blessings 
too ; and, like all the appointments of our 
Heavenly Father, it is intended as the sow- 
ing time, to issue in a rich harvest of pre- 
cious fruit. How little should we discover 
the difference between the temporal benedic- 
tions of God, and that love of God which is 
the source of those blessings, unless we were 
at times taken from the one and cast upon 
the other. It is well for the child to feel by 
experience, that to enjoy communion with 
his father is better than merely to receive a 
gift from him ; and that oneness of spirit with 
our Lord is a much higher blessing and proof 
of love, than any merely temporary good can 
be without it. How many of those refresh- 
ing visits does our Lord pay to his sick chil- 
dren ! How often does he draw near their 
bed to comfort them with a sense of his lov- 



Choice Consolation. 25 

ing presence ! How many blessed angels 
invisibly minister to them, and watch over 
them in tenderest sympathy ! And how 
many blessed spirits encompass us in those 
hours which seem to our eyes most desolate 
and lonely ! Mary Anne Schimmelpennick. 



LETTER WRITTEN BY EDWARD BICKERSTETH TO 
HIS INVALID DAUGHTER. 

npHE sick one has the strongest claim, from 
-*■ her very weakness, on the absent father ; 
and so I begin my letters with one to you. 
And if it be so in earthly parental love, 
which is only a drop from the ocean, it must 
be infinitely more so in heavenly parental 
love, the very ocean from which all other 
love originally comes. My child is called to 
glorify God in a more difficult path than her 
father has to walk in ; by quiet, patient, con- 
fiding, and loving acquiescence in the Lord's 
will, amid daily suffering ; and I rejoice to 
see how the Holy Spirit is mightily aiding 
her to learn the lesson, which will help her 
joy forever. A father's heart yearns after 
his afflicted child going through lengthened 



26 Choice Consolation. 

trials ; but a better, wiser, more loving, 
heavenly Father directs it all. It will not 
last one moment more than he sees fit for 
the best good of my child, and, too, for a far 
higher object, — His own glory, in buffeting 
Satan by a weak earthen vessel, and the 
perpetual expulsion of that malignant foe, 
from a temple which the Lord will consecrate 
to himself forever. 



THE BENEFITS OF AFFLICTION. 

T?OR he does all things well ; yea, he in- 
*- tends to do better for you, far better 
than you can ever imagine. He loves you 
more than you can possibly love yourself; 
and he will send you nothing but what is for 
your real and best interest, and he will let 
you find it so. His love is almighty, and it 
is unchangeable. What cannot he do, what 
will he not do, when his heart is set upon 
blessing his people ? It is a common thing 
with him to bring spiritual good out of tem- 
poral evil : he can extract pleasure out of 
pain ; yea, he can enrich by impoverishing, 
and turn losses into gain. Unto you it is 
now given, as a matter of his choice favor, 



Choice Consolation. 27 

not only to believe on him, but also to be 
conformed to him, by bearing his cross. This 
he is aiming at. He is going to advance you 
to great honor, and to make you comforted 
on every side. At this very time he is train- 
ing you up for it. He is now going to confer 
some of his special mercies, some of the 
greatest blessings he has to give on earth ; 
which he bestows in so certain and fixed a 
wav, that I know his mind and will concern- 
ing you, as plainly here in London as if I 

were with you at Wm. Romaine. 



r\ OD oftentimes mingles bitterness in the 
" cup of those, to whom he has given the 
purest and holiest affections ; leaving them 
not only to sorrows without, to which we 
have already alluded, but oftentimes to heavy 
sorrows within. But the Christian, whose 
will is entirely subdued, will drink this por- 
tion also. All he asks, and what he feels he 
must have, is Holiness ; and if with this cup 
of God and of angels, his heavenly Father 
sees fit to mingle some ingredient of bitter- 
ness, to remind him of his former sinful state, 
and to teach him more fully the way of sub- 



28 Choice Consolation. 

mission, he cheerfully accepts it. He knows, 
notwithstanding his afflictions, that he is dear 
to God ; and that his name is written on the 
heart of infinite love. He knows that he is 
jnst in that place where God has seen fit and 
best to place him ; and that he endures just 
what God sees best he should endure ; and 
he would not even now, though thick dark- 
ness is around his path, exchange his condi- 
tion for that of angels. Upham. 



TF laid aside from the activities of the Chris- 
-*- tian life, we can equally glorify God by 
passive endurance. "Who am I?" said Lu- 
ther when he witnessed the patience of a 
great sufferer ; " who am I ? — a wordy 
preacher, in comparison with this great 
doer." 

Let us be patient. These severe afflictions 

Not from the ground arise, 
But oftentimes celestial benedictions 

Assume this dark disguise. 



OUR afflictions pierce the heart of God 
before they reach ours. 



Choice Consolation. 29 



A SABBATH HYMN FOR A SICK-CHAMBER. 
1. 

rpHOUSANDS, O Lord of Hosts ! this day, 
■*■ Around thy altar meet ; 
And tens of thousands throng to pay 
Their homage at thy feet. 

2. 

They see thy power and glory there, 

As I have seen them too ; 
They read, they hear, they join in prayer, 

As I was wont to do. 

3. 

They sing thy deeds, as I have sung, 

In sweet and solemn lays ; 
Were I among them, my glad tongue 

Might learn new themes of praise. 

4. 

For thou art in their midst, to teach 

When on thy name they call ; 
And thou hast blessings, Lord, for each, — 

Hast blessings, Lord, for all. 



30 Choice Consolation. 



I, of such fellowship bereft, 

In spirit turn to thee ; 
Oh ! hast thou not a blessing left ? 

A blessing, Lord, for me ! 

6. 

The dew lies thick on all the ground ; 

Shall my poor fleece be dry ? 
The manna rains from heaven around ; 

Shall I of hunger die ? 

7. 

Behold thy prisoner ; — loose my bands, 

If 't is thy gracious w T ill ; 
If not, contented in thy hands, 

Behold thy prisoner still ! 

8. 

I may not to thy house repair, 

Yet here thou surely art ; 
Lord, consecrate a house of prayer 

In my surrendered heart. 

9. 

To faith reveal the things unseen, 
To hope the joys unfold ; 



Choice Consolation. 31 

Let love, without a veil between, 
Thy glory now behold. 

10. 

Oh, make thy face on me to shine, 
That doubt and fear may cease ; 

Lift up thy countenance benign 
On me, and give me peace. 



HHRIALS are ill to bear. To be reduced 
-■- from affluence to poverty — to lie on a 
bed of languor — to pass sleepless nights of 
pain — to be exposed to evil tongues — to sit 
amid the ruins of fortune — to lay loved ones 
in a lonesome grave — such things are not 
joyous but grievous. Winter, no doubt, is 
not the pleasant season that summer brings, 
with her songs and flowers and long, bright, 
sunny days. Bitter medicines, no doubt, are 
not savory meat. Yet he who believes that 
all things shall work together for good, will 
be ready to thank God for physic as well as 
for food ; and for the winter frost that kills 
the weeds, and breaks up the soil, as for the 
dewy nights and sunny days that ripen the 
fields of corn. May God give us such a 



* 



32 Choice Consolation. 

faith ! With nature weak, and grace imper- 
fect, — when there is no lifting of the cloud, 
and trials are severe and long protracted, — 
oh ! though it may be easy for an onlooker 
to preach patience, it is not easy for a sufferer 
to practise it. In such circumstances, how 
prone we are to take the case out of God's 
hands, and getting discontented w^ith his dis- 
cipline, how ready are we to cry, " How 
long, O Lord, how long ? If it be possible, 
let this cup pass from me ;" or, "Take away 
this, and give me any one else to drink." 
Yet let me have a firm faith in God's truth 
and love, let me be confident that he will 
do what he has said, and perform all that he 
has promised, and I shall discover mercy's 
bow bent on fortune's blackest cloud, and 
under the most trying providences shall en- 
joy in my heart, and exhibit to others in my 
temper, the blessed difference between a suf- 
ferer that mourns and a spirit that murmurs. 
" Call upon me in the day of trouble." 
" Weeping may endure for a night, but joy 
cometh in the morning." Guthrie. 



OAST not away therefore your confidence, 
which hath great recompense of reward. 



* 



Choice Consolation. 33 

QAID the angel of the covenant unto one 
^ who had wrestled with him all night, 
" As a prince hast thou power with God, and 
hast prevailed." Are there no princes in 
prayer except on the plain of Penial ? None, 
now, who wrestle not one night only, but 
through long years of infirmity and suffering 
it may be, yet of cherished communion with 
God, whose prayers, presented "in the golden 
vial" by an almighty Advocate, are poured 
back in priceless benedictions ? 



T ET us try to realize that not one day of 
■^ weariness will be given to the maturest 
saint, that is not necessary ; not one sigh 
breathed that has not its errand. The ser- 
vant of Christ need never be useless, under 
any circumstances, in any place, alone, on a 
bed of weakness, shut out from the world, 
deaf even, while the heart can beat with love 
to a dying world, or conscious thought rise to 
the mercv-seat. 



_L)E more anxious for profit from your afflic- 
tion than for support under it. 



34 Choice Consolation. 

SUBMISSION* TO THE WILL OF GOD. 

fYR what wisdom is it to believe and not 
" to dispute, to submit our thoughts to 
God's court, and not to repine at any act of 
his justice ! It is impossible to be submissive, 
if we stay our thoughts down among the con- 
fused rollings and wheels of second causes ; 
as, — " Oh, the place ! Oh, the time ! Oh, if 
this had been, this had not followed ! Oh, 
the linking of this accident with this time 
and place ! " — Look up to the master-motion 
and the first wheel ; see and read the decree 
of Heaven and the Creator of men. " How 
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways 

past finding OUt ! " Rutherford. 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST IJST THE SUFFERINGS OF 
HIS DISCIPLES. 

TN whatever aspect we view it, the love of 
-*- Christ is marvellous. The Word of God 
affirms that it passeth knowledge, and no 
Christian has ever fathomed it. When we 
contemplate it as moving the Saviour to visit 
the earth, and die upon the cross for his ene- 
mies, we are led to exclaim, u Was there 
ever love like this ? " 



►v 



Choice Consolation. 35 

But, perhaps, the course of discipline to 
which the Redeemer subjects his disciples, in 
maturing them for heaven, affords in some 
respects, the most touching proof of his love. 
In order to effect their complete purification, 
they need to be cast into the furnace, to feel 
the flames of affliction kindling about them. 
This is a painful, often an excruciating pro- 
cess, especially as it tends to awaken the 
latent iniquity of the heart, and occasions 
inward conflicts between nature and grace, 
the most violent and distressing. In the 
midst of the fires the disciple cries out, "My 
sufferings are greater than I can bear ! " or, 
perhaps, " My hope is gone ! " 

Where, now, is the Saviour during these 
painful experiences, extended it may be 
through long years ? Is it thus he mani- 
fests his love to his chosen ones, or has he 
forgotten to be gracious ? Why does he not 
quench those flames ? Why not heed these 
mournful cries ? Love is the answer ; yes, 
love more than human ; love so pure and 
strong, as to silence for the time the sug- 
gestions of mere sympathy ; love that longs 
to behold its own bright and beauteous image 
in the person of a disciple, and that can 
stand by and bear to see that beloved, ran- 



* 



36 Choice Consolation, 

somed one enduring more than tongue can 
express, while the dross is vanishing in the 
furnace. Yes, tried and fearful soul, your 
Saviour is ever near you, he loves you, he 
is touched with the feeling of your infirm- 
ity; he sympathizes with every groan you 
utter, for you are a member of his own 
body, and he well remembers the anguish 
of his own heart when on earth ; but his love 
looks beyond the present moment to future 
years, to the hour of death, to heaven, and 
resolves to do for you what shall inconceiv- 
ably augment your holiness and your bliss 
eternally. His love kindles the fire, and 
keeps it burning, but when the dross shall 
be consumed, and your spirit meek and quiet 
" like a weaned child," oh, with what double 
rapture will he draw you from the furnace, 
fold you in his arms, and smile upon you 
with a look that will reveal something of 
heaven. And as you review all the trials 
you have endured, you will say, " It was 
all of love." Yes, the time will come when 
you will regard every stroke as given in 
mercy, and bless God that there was not one 
less. Human love is not equal to this. It 
is blind and feeble. It is sometimes untrue, 
by reason of its frailty. But Christ's love 

4* » 



Choice Consolation. 37 

never faileth. It infinitely transcends all 
human infirmity. It can bear to be con- 
sidered for a time coldness and desertion, 
for it looks to the believer's ultimate and 
exceeding greater good, and well knows that 
the future will reveal its true intent and 
heavenly purity. 



Suffering. 

npRIAL, when it weighs severely, 
**- Stamps the Saviour's image clearly 

On the heart of all his friends ; 
In the frame his hands have moulded 
Is a future life unfolded 

Through the suffering which he sends. 

Suffering curbs our wayward passions, 
Childlike tempers in us fashions, 

And our will to his subdues ; 
Thus his hand so soft and healing 
Each disordered power and feeling 

By a blessed change renews. 

Suffering tunes the heart's emotion 
To eternity's devotion, 



38 Choice Consolation. 

And awakes a fond desire 
For the land where psalms are ringing 
And with psalms the martyrs singing 

Sweetly to the harper's quire. 

Suffering gives our faith assurance, 
Makes us patient in endurance. 

Suffering ! who is worth thy pains ? 
Here they call thee only torment — 
There they call thee a preferment 

Which not every one attains. 

Though in health, with powers unwasted, 
And with willing hearts we hasted 

To take up our Saviour's cross ; 
If through trial our good Master 
Should refine these powers the faster, 

What good Christian counts it loss ? 

From the German of Hartmann. 



TN the furnace God may prove thee, 

-*- Thence to bring thee forth more bright ; 

But can never cease to love thee, — 

Thou art precious in his sight. 
God is with thee, — 

God, thine everlasting light." 



Choice Consolation. 39 



TO AN AFFLICTED LADY. 

AT7HEN ye are come to the other side of 
" * the water, and have set down your foot 
on the shore of glorious eternity, and look 
back again to the waters, and to your weari- 
some journey, and shall see in that clear 
glass of endless glory, nearer to the bottom 
of God's wisdom, you shall then be forced 
to say : "If God had done otherwise with 
me than he hath done, I had never come 
to the enjoying of this crown of glory." It 
is your part now to believe, and suffer, and 
hope, and wait on ; for I protest in the pres- 
ence of that all-discerning eye, who know- 
eth what I write, and what I think, that I 
would not want the sweet experience of 
the consolations of God for all the bitter- 
ness of affliction ; nay, whether God come 
to his children with a rod or a crown, if he 
come himself with it, it is well ; welcome, 
welcome, Jesus, what may so ever then 
come, if we can get a sight of thee. And 
sure I am, it is better to be sick, providing 
Christ come to the bedside and draw the 
curtains, and say, " Courage, I am thy salva- 
tion," than to enjoy health and never to be 

visited of God. Rutherford. 

L : * 



40 Choice Consolation. 



i 



A VOICE FROM HEAVEN. 
1. 

SHINE in the light of God, 



His image stamps my brow ; 
Though the shadows of death my feet have 
trod, 

I reign in glory now. 
No breaking heart is here, 

No keen and thrilling pain, 
No wasted cheek where the frequent tear, 

Hath rolled and left its stain. 

2. 

I have found the joys of heaven, 

I am one of the angel band ; 
To my head a crown of gold is given, 

And a harp is in my hand. 
I have learned the song they sing 

Whom Jesus* hath set free, 
And the glorious walls of heaven still ring 

With my new-born melody. 

3. 

No sigh, — no grief, — no pain, 

Safe in my happy home ; 
My fears all fled, my doubts all slain, 

My hour of triumph come. 



Choice Consolation. 41 

Oh ! Mends of my mortal years, 

The trusted and the true, 
Ye are walking still through the valley of tears, 

But I wait to welcome you. 

4. 
Do I forget ? Oh, no ! 

For memory's golden chain 
Shall bind my heart to the hearts below 

Till they meet and touch again : 
Each link is strong and bright, 

And love's electric flame, 
Flows freely down like a river of light 

To the world from winch I came. 

5.' 

Do you mourn when another star 

Shines out from the glittering sky ? 
Do you weep when the raging voice of war 

And the storms of conflict die ? 
Then why should your tears run down 

And your hearts be sorely riven, 
For another gem in the Saviour's crown 

And another soul in heaven. 



NEVER be alone with your troubles. Call 
God into your confidence and counsels. j a y. 



42 



Choice Consolation. 



BISHOP WILSON ON AFFLICTION. 

rpHE benefit of a great affliction must come 
-*- from the same hand that sent it. Af- 
flictions in themselves harden and drive from 
God, as in the case of the ungodly ; but in 
the case of the righteous, they draw us to 
God, and unite us to him. 

2d. This effect will be gradual, secret ; 
between God and the soul, and not loqua- 
cious and prominent. 

3d. It must be sought for in earnest prayer, 
and by the grace of the Holy Spirit. 

4th. The Psalms are the afflicted soul's 
cordial, guide, and model. 

5th. A new covenant should be made 
with God, and written out in secret, and 
kept unseen by all but God. 

6th. There is no need to look out for any 
special and tangible reason for the divine 
chastisement. It is God's discipline with 
all his children, and most with those whom 
he most loves. 

7th. The sensible impression of the afflic- 
tion will fade by lapse of time, but the sanc- 
tified effect will remain to the end of life. 

8th. Cecil's or u Adam's Thoughts " are 
excellent books for affliction. 



Choice Consolation. 43 

9th. Meditate on eternity, — that will 
swallow up time. 

10th. Fix a time for public thanksgiving 
and receiving the Supper of the Lord. 



TT7E need not ask for suffering ; when its 
* * test 

Comes, we may prove too faithless to en- 
dure. 

But we may ask from Him 

That not one throb of grief, one dart of pain, 
One burning throb of anguish, pierce in vain 

This feeble being in its faith so dim, — 
This fainting frame or this o'erburdened 

heart. 
We may implore Him he would grace im- 
part, 
And strength to suffer still as the beloved 
Of his own bosom. For of all below, 
The one affliction in this world of woe 
Most sad, is an affliction unimproved. 



GRACE teaches us, in the midst of life's 
greatest comforts, to be willing to die, 
and, in the midst of its greatest crosses, to be 

willing to live. Henry's Commentary on Job. 



44 Choice Consolation. 



GLORIFYING GOD IN AFFLICTION. 

SUBMISSION to the will of God is one 
^ duty. By submission I mean the re- 
pression of all repining language, the resist- 
ance of all rebellious feeling, and the deter- 
mined opposition of all hard thoughts of 
God, as if he had dealt unkindly or se- 
verely with us ; together with an acquies- 
cence in all he does as right and good. 

Somewhat of Christian cheerfulness should 
be manifested by all persons in adversity. If 
they would glorify God ; if they would cause 
the light of their principles to shine forth ; if 
they would adorn the doctrine of God their 
Saviour ; if they would appear different from 
other men ; they must break the silence of 
submission with the words of contentment, 
and, if possible, with the notes of praise. 
They must sing like the nightingale, and 
shine like the glow - worm in the dark. 
Thus will they glorify God, when the 
smile of cheerfulness on their countenance 
looks like the bow upon the cloud, and 
they render the dark season of their sor- 
row a means of displaying the resplendent 
beauties of the Son of Righteousness. O 
how is God honored by the Christian in ad- 



*- 



*■ 



Choice Consolation. 45 

versity, when all his conduct as well as his 
words seem to say, — "I have lost much, 
but I still possess infinitely more than I 
have lost or can lose. With Christ as my 
Saviour, God as my Father, salvation as 
my portion, and heaven as my home, how 
can I be thought poor and wretched ? v ' 

Rev. J. A. James. 



" And ye now therefore have sorrow ; but I will see you 
again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man 
taketh from you." 

/COMETH sunshine after rain, 

^ After mourning joy again, 

After heavy bitter grief 

Dawneth surely sweet relief; 

And my soul who from her height 
Sank to realms of woe and night, 
Wingeth now to heaven her flight. 

Though to-day may not fulfil 

All thy hopes, have patience still ; 

For perchance to-morrow's sun 

Sees thy happier days begun. 

As God willeth march the hours, 
Bringing joy at last in showers, 
And whate'er we asked is ours. 



46 Choice Consolation. 

When my heart was vex'd with care, 
Fill'd with fears well nigh despair ; 
When with watching many a night, 
On me fell pale sickness' blight ; 

When my courage failed me fast, 
Camest thou, my God, at last, 
And my woes were quickly past. 

Every sorrow, every smart, 

That the Eternal Father's heart 

Hath appointed me of yore, 

Or hath yet for me in store, 

As my life flows on I'll take 

Calmly, gladly for his sake, 

No more faithless murmurs make. 

I will meet distress and pain, 
I will greet e'en death's dark reign, 
I will lay me in the grave, 
With a heart still glad and brave. 

Whom the Strongest doth defend, 
Whom the Highest counts his friend, 
Cannot perish in the end. 

Lyra Germanica. 
— ♦— 

HPHEY are blessed who suffer and sin not, 
-*• for suffering is the badge that Christ 

hath put upon his followers. Rutherford. 



* 



* 



Choice Consolation. 47 

PROOFS OF SANCTIFIED AFFLICTION. 

HPHE proof of a sanctified affliction begins 
-*- to s/ww itself while the trouble lasts. A 
striking proof of sanctified affliction is a 
deep anxiety, a studious effort, and mucli 
earnest prayer that it might be blessed for 
the good of the soul. Those who are really 
benefitting by affliction recognize the hand 
of God in it. Yes, they do not wander 
about amidst the briers torn and lacerated 
seeking after second causes, but go and 
He down at once on "the soft green" of 
the doctrine of providence. Then as they 
recognize the hand that smites, they are 
equally forward to acknowledge the design. 
" This is for my good, I know, because I 
am told that ' all things work together for 
my good.' I do not see how, but that is not 
my business ; all I know is, it will be so, for 
God has said it. He intends to make me 
holier by this affliction. He is bent upon my 
improvement." — A readiness to dwell upon 
our mercies, especially our spiritual blessings, 
is a fine evidence of a holy state of mind. 
It is delightful to hear the sorrowful believer 
talking of his mercies, and thus setting one 
thing over against another. — I now go on 

4 



48 Choice Consolation. 

to set before yon those proofs of a sancti- 
fied affliction which are furnished by the 
conduct after the trial is removed. If when 
the hand of God is withdrawn, and pros- 
perity again returns, the views, feelings and 
purposes remain which the soul entertained 
in the season of darkness ; if, for instance, 
there be the same solicitude for spiritual im- 
provement, if there be a still prayerful and 
anxious desire not to lose the benefit of 
trouble but to be made more holy and heav- 
enly ; there is every reason to believe that 
the visitation of God has left a blessing be- 
hind. 2d. Increasing deadness to the world, 
and growing spirituality of mind are another 
proof of the same result. 3d. A more en- 
tire consecration of the soul to God's ser- 
vice in general and to some special service 
in particular is also a proof of sanctified af- 
fliction. When the Christian is seen giving 
himself afresh to the service of God in a more 
devoted attendance upon all the means of 
grace, private, domestic and public ; when 
he seems anxious, inventive and laborious to 
show his gratitude and love by new acts of 
devotedness, it is a convincing evidence that 
he has derived benefit from tribulation. 4th. 
Increased sympathy for others in their afflic- 



Choice Consolation. 49 

tion is a proof that our own has done us 
good. It is a delightful exhibition of a 
mind softened and sanctified by affliction, 
to see a person, on recovering from it, still 
holding in remembrance the wormwood and 
the gall, and instead of giving himself to 
selfish enjoyment going forth with quickened 
sensibilities to succor the distressed. 

Rev. J. A. James. 



pOVET earnestly the best gifts. The pas- 
^ sive graces, — patience, meekness, self- 
abnegation ; these are the miracles of the 
New Covenant. While many of the active 
virtues are merely the natural energies trans- 
figured and changed into a higher likeness, 
— the earthly made to bear the image of 
the heavenly, — these are most truly 

" Unfed by Nature's soil." 
Their root itself is in Christ, and in him is 
their fruit found. 

A Present Heaven. 



(jtRACE tried is better than grace, and it 
is more than grace : it is glory in its infancy. 

Rutherford. 



50 Choice Consolation. 

THOUGHTS OF HEAVEN. 

1. 

1VTO sickness there, 

-^ No weary wasting of the frame away, 
No fearful shrinking from the midnight 
air, — 
No dread of summer's bright and fervid ray ! 

2. 

No hidden grief, 
No wild and cheerless vision of despair ; 

No vain petition for a swift relief, 
No tearful eye, no broken hearts are there. 

3. 
Care has no home 
Within that realm of ceaseless praise and 
song — 
Its tossing billows break and melt in foam 
Far from the mansions of the spirit throng. 

4. 

No parted friends 
O'er mournful recollections have to weep ; 

No bed of death enduring Love attends 
To watch the coming of a pulseless sleep. 



■A 



Choice Consolation. 51 

5. 
Let us depart, 
If home like this await the weary soul. 
Look up, thou stricken one ; thy wounded 
heart 
Shall bleed no more at sorrow's stern control. 

6. 
With Faith our guide, 
White-robed and innocent to trace the way, 
Why fear to plunge in Jordan's rolling 
tide, 
And find the ocean of eternal Day ? 



A DARK PRESENT AND A GLORIOUS FUTURE. 

THHERE is hardly so splendid a promise, 
-*- so radiant a revelation of grace and 
future glory, even in that book of " ex- 
ceeding great and precious promises," the 
Bible, as that contained in Isaiah liv. 11, 12 : 
a O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and 
not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones 
with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with 
sapphires. And I will make thy windows 
of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and 
all thy borders of pleasant stones." 



52 Choice Consolation. 

No such promise is made to the prosper- 
ous in all the Word of God. None, in fact, 
to any other, than the soul (or the church) 
in the deepest humiliation and affliction. 

How powerful the contrast ! " Afflicted, 
tempest-tossed, not comforted ! " Thus, word 
for word, the object is addressed. And no 
words could heighten the picture of utter 
desolation drawn in these few words. " Be- 
hold ! I will lay thy stones in cement of ver- 
milion, and thy foundations with sapphires, 
and I will make thy battlements of rubies, 
and thy gates of sparkling gems, and the 
whole circuit of thy walls shall be of pre- 
cious stones." 

" Beauty, magnificence, purity, strength, 
and solidity," says Bishop Lowth, "are the 
import of these expressions. They are ad- 
dressed to the Church, it is true, or to the 
people of God collectively. But whatever 
is addressed to the Church, is addressed to 
every soul included within her living com- 
munion. Every promise in the Bible is 
made to every believer." 

It is enough to make one in love with 
affliction that God has made such promises 
to it, and to it only. 

Law, somewhere in his " Serious Call," 



Choice Consolation. 53 

says : " Rejoice and adore God with uplifted 
hands, when thou fallest into any sort of 
shame or trouble, seeing the fruit it is to 
work in the soul and the sequel that is to 
come after it, according to the sure Word 
of God." 

That seems an extravagant sentiment ; 
yet it is not. Has not our Lord said as 
much and more ? — " Rejoice in that day 
and leap for joy." And Paul, too, " We 
glory in tribulation." " I take pleasure in 
persecutions, necessities, distresses." And 
James, " My brethren, count it all joy, 
when ye fall into divers temptations" — 
manifold trials. For, " Blessed is the man 
that endureth temptation, (trial,) for when 
he is tried, he shall receive a crown of life." 

A crown of life ! Can our earthly exist- 
ence have a more glorious result than that ? 
and all for " enduring ! ' There is, then, 
no higher form of holy heroism than pa- 
tience, no surer path to the abode and com- 
pany of those who are arrayed in white 
robes and bear palms in their hands than 
that which lies through "much tribulation." 

This is a comforting thought to those who 
are " afflicted from their youth up," whose 
lot in this life it seems to be especially to 



54 Choice Consolation. 

suffer, and who can combat for the heavenly 
glory only by "a great fight of afflictions." 

It is a contrast which the church of God 
and the particular believer should ever have 
in view. The " Dark Present " must be 
looked at not only in contrast with the 
" Glorious Future," but as instrumental and 
preparatory to it, if we would " hold fast the 
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope, 
firm unto the end." 



"CAST ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM, FOR HE 
CARETH FOR YOU." 



f\N thee, O my God, I rest, 
^ Letting life float calmly on, 
For I know the last is best, 

When the crown of joy is won. 
In thy might all things I bear, 

In thy love find bitters sweet, 
And with all my grief and care 

Sit in patience at thy feet. 

2. 

Let thy mercy's wing be spread 
O'er me, keep me close to thee, 



*■ 



Choice Consolation. 55 

In the peace thy love doth shed, 

Let me dwell eternally. 
Be my All ; in all I do 

Let me only seek thy will, 
When the heart to thee is true, 

All is peaceful, calm, and still. 

A. H. Francke, Lyra Ger. 



DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN SORROW AND AFFLIC- 
TION, 

ET it be understood, then, that while 
sin is the first cause of all suffering and 
affliction, (or nearly all, — all that has any 
sting to it,) yet to many who have not 
sinned most grievously, — nay, to many of 
the very best and purest of humanity, the 
dispensations of sorrow come most heavily, 
and in various ways and kinds. — Beautifully 
and sweetly has it been said, " When the 
freed spirit shall ascend from its shackles of 
clay, in the clearer light of a better world, it 
will be seen how necessary was this compul- 
sory training, to bring forth and ripen to 
perfection, the willing fruits of obedience and 
love. Those who are called, in the econ- 
omy of God's providence, to some important 



56 Choice Consolation. 

sphere of uses in this life, but more especially 
with reference to the life to come, are prov- 
en, even to the seventh time if need be, in 
the purifying "furnace of affliction." 

How great a truth, and how comforting, 
have we here ! We know not, any of us, 
for what offices in the spiritual world we are 
now being trained, nor how much our pres- 
ent trials and afflictions are necessarily con- 
nected with the nature of that office. I 
often think, when I read the accounts of 
terrible and mysterious sufferings, how most 
befitting such persons may become to minis- 
ter to those who may suffer in like manner, 
and how sweet and high will be the satis- 
faction of doing it. Oh, it is beautiful to 
think, amid the terrible and confused scenes 
of this world, how surely the whole expe- 
rience connects with eternal things, and how 
our most severe and bitter trials may be pre- 
paring us for our sweetest offices of love and 
tenderness, from which we shall derive the 
most heartfelt pleasure ! What can a me- 
diocre person do or realize, who has passed 
through this life indifferent or insensate, not 
keenly alive to its joys and sorrows, and not 
greatly susceptible to either, compared to a 
soul who has most sensitively mingled in its 



f, ^ 

Olioiee Consolation. 57 

great experience, and been mellowed and 
affected by its many changes. Here, again, 
is the compensating law, which will even- 
tually reconcile all conditions, and equalize 
all fortunes, that to the very 

" Height of this great argument, 
We may assert eternal providence, 
And justify the ways of God to men." 



MRS. H. B. STOWE, ON AFFLICTION. 

HTHE good of affliction is not often per- 
A ceivable as the result of one trial, but 
rather as the aggregate of several. The me- 
chanic who would bring out the clouds and 
veins of a precious wood, seems to harass 
and torture it in various ways ; and if the 
wood were a sentient creature, it might well 
complain, as the saw, and plane, and the 
rude pumice-stone pass successively over it, 
and each varnish is scraped and rubbed ; — 
nor till the last touch has been given does 
one see the final result. So of afflictions. 
Some are like strokes of the axe and ham- 
mer, splitting and rending the heart of the 
soul ; others are w r earing and long-continued, 
like the slow work of the file and polishing- 
brush; and very seldom, under the process, 

{• . > 



58 Choice Consolation. 

does the soul recognize their use ; but after 
long years, a softened melody of soul is pro- 
duced as the result of all. 

Could a diamond speak when the lapidary 
is leisurely filing away its glittering particles, 
and vexing it with many frictions and polish- 
ings, it might say — "I could bear a good 
hammer-stroke, but ah, this is wearing my 
very soul away." Nevertheless, the artisan 
knows that it is not the hammer, but the 
weary polish that the diamond must have, 
to make it glitter royally at last in a diadem. 
Such are some of the most common, least 
valued of our afflictions, — a slow, wearing, 
heart-eating process, — an affliction, often- 
times known and recognized as such only by 
God who orders it, and knows the precise 
moment when it is possible to let it cease. 

Then let the soul deeply engrave in its 
belief this answer to its oft-recurring ques- 
tion, — Why am I thus tried? Because this 
affliction and no other could save thee. The 
Great Father is an economist in all his lav- 
ish profusion of riches, but of nothing is he 
more saving than of the sorrows of his be- 
loved; not one tear too much, not one sigh, 
not one uneasiness too many is the lot of the 
meanest of his chosen. 



Choice Consolation* 59 



ON BEREAVEMENT. 

TTOW beautifully to the spirit-eye do the 
-"- most common scenes of life become 
transformed through the power of death. 
The places where those whom we love were 
wont to dw^ell are henceforth invested with 
a more sacred influence, and, to the earnest 
and thoughtful spirit, there comes the voice 
bidding the soul bow down in reverence, for 
the spot on which it stands is holy ground. 
So does every new departure of those whom 
we love — the faithful disciples of the Master 
— make the home that is preparing for us 
more beautiful; for the Saviour has taught 
us that death is but an incident, and not 
even a transforming incident to the spirit. 
" They wait to receive us with the same 
countenance of affection they wore upon 
earth, but more lovely, more radiant, more 
spiritual. The far country, towards which 
we journey, seems nearer to us, and the way 
less dark ; for some have gone before, pass- 
ing so quietly to their rest that day itself 
dies not more calmly." 

" Though Death his sacred seal hath set 
On bright and by-gone hours, 



60 Choice Consolation. 

Still they we mourn are with us yet, 
Are more than ever ours ; — 

Ours by the pledge of love and faith, 
By hopes of heaven on high, 

By trust triumphant over death, 
In immortality." 



npHE main of a Christian's duty lies in 
-*- these two things, — patience in suffering 
and avoidance of sin, — and they have a nat- 
ural influence upon each other. Although 
affliction simply doth not, yet affliction sweet- 
ly and humbly carried doth, purify and dis- 
engage the heart from sin, wean it from the 
world and the common ways of it. And 
again, holy and exact walking keeps the soul 
in a sound healthful temper, and so enables 
it, by patient suffering, to bear things more 

easily. Leighton. 



OVE thou the path of sorrow that Christ 
-" trod; 

Toil on, and wait in patience for thy rest : 
O city of our God ! we soon shall see 
Thy glorious walls, — home of the loved and 
blessed. 



* 



Choice Consolation. 61 



LAST WORDS OF SAMUEL RUTHERFORD. 
" Glory — glory dwelleth in Immanuel's land." 

rpHE sands of time are sinking, 
-*- The dawn of heaven breaks, 
The summer morn I 've sighed for, 

The fair sweet morn awakes : 
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, 

But dayspring is at hand, 
And glory — glory dwelleth 

In Immanuel's land. 

The King there in his beauty, 

Without a veil is seen : 
It were a well-spent journey, 

Though seven deaths lay between : 
The Lamb with his fair army 

Doth on Mount Zion stand, 
And glory — glory dwelleth 

In Immanuel's land. 

The little birds of Anworth, 
I used to count them blest, 

Now beside happier altars 
I go to build my nest : 

O'er these there broods no silence, 



* 



62 Choice Consolation. 

No graves around them stand, 
For glory, deathless, dwelleth 
In Immanuel's land. 

Fair Anworth, by the Solway, 

To me thou still art dear, 
E'en from the verge of heaven 

I drop for thee a tear. 
Oh ! if one soul from Anworth 

Meet me at God's right hand, 
My heaven will be two heavens, 

In Immanuel's land. 

I 've wrestled on towards heaven, 

'Gainst storm, and wind, and tide ; 
Now, like a weary traveller 

That leaneth on his guide, 
Amid the shades of evening, 

While sinks life's lingering sand, 
I hail the glory dawning 

From Immanuel's land. 

Deep waters crossed life's pathway, 
The hedge of thorns was sharp : 

Now, these lie all behind me — 
Oh ! for a well-tuned harp ! 

Oh ! to join Hallelujah 

With yon triumphant band, 



■A 



Choice Consolation. 63 

Who sing, where glory dwelleth, 
In Immanuel's land. 



I shall sleep sound in Jesus, 

FilPd with his likeness rise, 
To love and to adore him, 

To see him with these eyes : 
'Tween me and resurrection 

But Paradise doth stand ; 
Then, then for glory dwelling, 

In Immanuel's land. 



npHERE are in this world blessed souls, 
-*- whose sorrows all spring up into joys 
for others ; whose earthly hopes, laid in the 
grave with many tears, are the seeds from 
which spring healing flowers and balm for 
the desolate and distressed. 

Mrs, H. B. Stowe. 



fT is a mighty blessing indeed, if God 
-*- makes use of any affliction whatever to 
bring us nearer to himself, and to make us 
know more of ourselves, and to become ac- 
quainted with his dispensations towards us. 

Cecil. 



A- 



64 Choice Consolation. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S HOME. 

nPO be with the Father, — no cloud of 
-*■ doubt, no unforgiven sin, to hide the 
brightness of his unveiled presence, but with 
a child-like spirit to trust forever his mercy, 
truth, and love ; to be with Christ, the Sav- 
iour of the soul, the sympathizer and helper 
in every trial and sorrow of the earthly life, 
to rest in his reconciling love, and to have 
him still as the Shepherd and Guide among 
the green pastures and beside the still waters 
of the Paradise of God ; to meet with apos- 
tles and prophets, and with the true and holy 
of every age ; to rejoin the loved of our own 
home-circles who have preceded us thither, 
and who wait to receive us with a deeper 
and purer affection than when we dwelt with 
them on earth ; to have all fear and sin cast 
out by perfect love ; to join the great com- 
pany of the redeemed in ascribing " Blessing 
and honor and glory and power unto Him 
that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb," — is not this honie, the believer's 
only true home ? 

* 4, 



Choice Consolation, 



65 



THHUS observe it : as it is in the Church, 
-*- compared to other societies, so it is in a 
congregation or family ; if there be one more 
diligently seeking after God than the rest, he 
shall be liable to meet with more trials, and 
be oftener under afflictions, than any of the 
company ; either under contempt or scorn, or 
poverty and sickness, or some one pressure 
or other, outward or inward. And yet all 
these, both outward and inward, have love, 
unspeakable love, in them all ; being designed 
to purge and polish them, and, by the increas- 
ing of grace, to fit them for glory. 

Leighton. 



T?VERY Christian should say, like David, 
-^ whatever be the state of things within 
or without, I will remember my Rock ; and 
though my soul is disquieted within me, I 
will fight against discouragement, hoping in 
God. Cecil. 



T^OUNG and old all brought their troubles, 
-^ Small and great for me to bear ; 
I have often blessed my sorrow, 
That drew others' griefs so near. 

Adelaide Proctor. 



K-*- 



66 Choice Consolation. 

^THEREFORE let them that suffer ac- 
* ' cording to the will of God, commit the 
keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as 
unto a faithful Creator." The true principle 
of Christian patience and tranquillity of mind 
in the sufferings of this life lies in this, com- 
mitting the soul unto God ! — u In patience 
possess your souls," says our Saviour. Im- 
patient, fretting souls are out of themselves ; 
their owners do not possess them. Now, the 
way to possess them ourselves in patience, is 
thus to commit them to him in confidence, 
for then only we possess them when he keeps 
them. There be in the words other two 
grounds of quietness of spirit in sufferings. 
1st. It is according to the will of God. The 
believing soul, subjected and levelled to that 
will, complying with his good pleasure in all, 
cannot have a more powerful persuasive than 
this, that all is ordered by his will. This 
settled in the heart would settle it much, 
and make it even in all things ; not only to 
know, but wisely and deeply to consider, 
that it is thus that all is measured in heaven, 
— every drachm of thy troubles weighed by 
that skilful hand which doth all things by 
weight, number, and measure. 

And then consider him as thy God and 

, , * 



b 

Choice Consolation. 67 

Father, who hath taken special charge of 
thee and of thy soul : thou hast given it to 
him, and he has received it. And upon this 
consideration, study to follow his will in all, 
— to have no will but his. This is thy duty 
and thy wisdom. Nothing is gained by 
spurning and struggling but to hurt and vex 
thyself; but by complying, all is gained — 
sweet peace. It is the very secret, the mys- 
tery of solid peace within, to resign all to his, 
will, to be disposed of at his pleasure, with- 
out the least contrary thought. And thus, 
like two-faced pictures, those sufferings and 
troubles, and whatsoever else, while beheld 
on the one side as painful to the flesh, hath 
an unpleasant usage ; yet, go about a little, 
and look upon it as thy Father's will, and 
then it is smiling, beautiful, and lovely. 

The other ground of quietness is contained 
in the first word which looks back on the 
foregoing discourse, " Wherefore." What ? 
Seeing that your reproaches and sufferings 
are not endless, yea, that they are short, 
they shall end, quickly end, and end in 
glory, be not troubled about them, overlook 
them. The eye of faith will do it. A mo- 
ment gone, and what are they ? This is the 
great cause of our disquietness in present 



68 Choice Consolation. 

troubles and griefs : we forget their end. 
We are afflicted by our condition in this 
present life, as if it were all, and it is noth- 
ing. Oh, how quickly shall all the enjoy- 
ments and all the sufferings of this life pass 
away, and be as if they had not been. 

Leighton. 
— ♦— 

/"^OULD the veil which now separates us 
^ from futurity be drawn aside, and those 
regions of everlasting happiness and sorrow, 
which strike so faintly on the imagination, be 
presented fully to our eyes, it would occasion, 
I doubt not, a sudden and strange revolution 
in our estimate of things. Many are the dis- 
tresses for which we now weep in suffer- 
ing or sympathy, that would awaken us to 
songs of thanksgiving ; many the dispensa- 
tions which now seem dreary and inexplica- 
ble, that would fill our adoring hearts with 
thanksgiving and joy. John Bowdler. 



T^XTRAORDINARY afflictions are not 
-" always the punishment of extraordinary 
sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary 

graces. Henry's Commentary on Job. 



Choice Consolation. 69 



EXTRACT FROM A LETTER WRITTEN BY MR. 
NORTON TO MRS. HEMANS, ON THE DEATH 
OF HER MOTHER. 

Y17HEN one so dear is taken away, — an 
' " object of constant reference, respect, and 
affection, — a principal part of all our enjoy- 
ments, a support in all affliction, one in whom 
we had lived, one through whom the Spirit of 
God had powerfully operated to produce all 
that is good within us ; the whole aspect of 
things is changed, and the world becomes a 
different place from what it was before. It 
must ever remain so. But in time, perhaps, 
it may become even a better and a brighter 
spot. The thick veil which separates it 
from the World of Life and Light has been 
broken through for us by the friend who has 
gone before ; and beams of glory may find 
their way where it has been rent. Between 
us and that world, a new and most affecting 
connection has been formed ; for one whom 
we most loved is there. A deep feeling of 
the reality and certainty of all which in truth 
is real and certain thus becomes permanent 
in our minds, blending itself with all our 
best affections. Blessed beyond all our con- 
ceptions of happiness are the dead who die 



70 Choice Consolation. 

in the Lord. They have rested from the 
labors which we still must bear. They 
have gone before us to prepare our place 
and our welcome, and are waiting to re- 
ceive us again, with more than human love. 
Amid the trials of life, he who feels his own 
weakness must sometimes almost wish that 
he, too, were as secure. 



SICKNESS LIKE NIGHT. 

rPHOU art like night, O sickness ! deeply 
-*- stilling 

Within my heart the world's disturbing 
sound, 
And the dim quiet of my chamber filling 
With low, sweet voices, by life's tumult 
drowned. 

Thou art like awful night ! — Thou gather- 
est round 
The things that are unseen, though close 
they lie, 
And with a truth clear, startling, and pro- 
found, 
Giv'st their dread presence to our mortal 
eye. 



+Z+ 



Choice Consolation. 71 

Thou art like starry, spiritual night ! 

High and immortal thoughts attend thy 

way, 
And revelations, which the common light 
Brings not, though wakening, with its 

rosy ray 
All outward life. Be welcome, then, thy 

rod, 
Before whose touch my soul unfolds itself to 

God. Mrs. Remans. 



EXTEACT FROM A LETTER OF MR. CECIL'S TO 
MRS. HAWKES. 

TT7E may compare an afflicted believer to 
* " a man that has an orchard laden with 
fruit, who, because the wind has blown off 
the leaves, sits down and weeps. If one 
asks, What do you weep for ? Why, my 
apple-leaves are gone ! But have you not 
your apples left ? Yes. Very well, then 
do not grieve for a few leaves, which could 
only hinder the ripening of your fruit. 

Pardons and promises that cannot fail, lie 
at the root of my dear daughter's profession ; 
and the fruits of faith, hope, and love, that 
no one can question, have long covered her 
branches. The east wind sometimes carries 



72 Choice Consolation. 

off a few leaves, though the rough wind is 
stayed ; and what if every leaf were gone ? 
what if not a single earthly comfort re- 
mained ? Christ has prayed and promised 
that her "fruit shall remain," and it shall 
be my joy to behold it through all eternity. 
The morning cometh, a morning without 
melancholy. To-morrow morning, you and 
I shall walk in a garden where I hope to 
talk to you about everything but sadness ; 
and if I even forgot, and began upon the 
subject, you would immediately reply, " Sor- 
row and sighing are fled forever." 



EXTRACT FROM THE DIARY OF MRS. HAWKES. 

WILL, as far as I am enabled, consider 
•*- that dispensation, trial, or affliction, sweet, 
that brings Christ more sensibly to my heart. 
I have had many deep troubles ; many pain- 
ful disappointments ; many unseen but severe 
sorrows; — yet not one of them, increased 
tenfold, is so much to be dreaded as the sus- 
pension of the comforting, life-giving pres- 
ence of my Saviour. What it is to " come 
up out of the wilderness, leaning on the 
Beloved," no one will ever know but by 



Choice Consolation. 73 

happy experience. And they can best es- 
timate the comfort, who have been left to 
travel ever so short a part of the journey 
alone. 



HPHE afflictions, conflicts, and temptations 
-*- through which the children of God are 
called to pass, produce not only patience, but 
also gain experience and acquaintance with 
the inward evils of the heart ; which design 
is intimated, Deut. viii. 2. When reflecting 
upon the pain with which this experience 
has sometimes been wrought out in others, 
we may perhaps think that, in similar circum- 
stances, we should have felt less, mourned 
less, repined less ; but it should be remem- 
bered that the measure of suffering attend- 
ant on any dispensation is a part of the 
appointment ; and that God registers the 
believer's conflict and sufferings as real. — 

Psalm lvi. 8. Cecil. 



T1TITH patience, then, the course of duty 
* * run ; 

God never does, nor suffers to be done, 
But that which you w^ould do, if you could see 
The end of all events as well as he. 

Donne. 



74 Choice Consolation, 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN'S PRAYER. 
1. 

GENTLY, my Saviour, let me down 
To slumber in the arms of death : 
I rest my soul on thee alone 

E'en till my last expiring breath. 

2. 

Death's dreadful sting has lost its power 
A ransomed sinner saved by grace, 

Lives but to die, and die no more, — 
Unveiled to see thy blissful face. 

3. 

Soon will the storm of life be o'er, 
And I shall enter endless rest : 

There shall I live to sin no more 
And bless thy name forever blest. 

4. 

Dear Saviour, let thy will be done ; 

Like yielding clay I humbly lie, 
May every murmuring thought be gone, 

Most peacefully resigned to die. 



Choice Consolation. 75 

5. 

Bid ine possess sweet peace within, 
Let child-like patience keep my heart ; 

Then shall I feel my heaven begin 
Before my spirit hence depart. 

6. 

Yes, and a brighter heaven still 

Awaits my soul through his rich grace, 

Who shall his word of truth reveal, 
Till called to sing his endless praise. 

7. 

Hasten thy chariot, God of love, 

And take me from this world of woe ; 

I long to reach those joys above, 
And bid farewell to all below. 

8. 

There shall my raptured spirit raise 
Still louder notes than angels sing ; 

High glories to Immanuel's grace, 
My God, my Saviour, and my King. 

Rowland Hill. 



T) Y long afflictions, God many times pre- 
^ pares his people for temporal, spiritual, 

and eternal mercies. Brooks' Mute Christian. 



76 Choice Consolation, 



O OMETIMES the Lord honors his people 
^ by appointing them a great trial. As 
he has given them to believe in his name, 
so also he gives them to " suffer for his 
sake." So far as he enables us to support 
affliction with cheerful submission, patience, 
and hope, so far the post of trial is a post 
of honor. Thereby the reality and power 
of religion, the power and faithfulness of our 
Lord in supporting and relieving, is exhibited 
to his glory, for the encouragement of be- 
lievers and the conviction of gainsayers ; and 
we ourselves are taught more and more of 
the vanity of creature-dependence and the 
all-sufficiency of our great and unchange- 
able Friend, who has promised, that, " if we 
suffer with him, we shall also reign with 

him." John Newton. 

— ♦ — 

A S long as the confident hope and expecta- 
^*- tion of the soul is from Christ, (however 
little comfort or enjoyment there may be in 
looking to him,) the soul is exercising true 
and living faith ; and perhaps faith is never 
so strong as when it clings to him in the 
dark, — I mean without sensible enjoyment. 

Adelaide L. Newton. 



Choice Consolation. 77 



KELIGION IN SICKNESS. 



TN few events of life does religion exhibit 
-*■• itself in a more impressive manner than 
in sickness. Now, as in the days of miracles, 
the sick are often made the agents of dis- 
playing the truth and power of the Christian 
faith. 

The sick-bed as a means of grace is sal- 
utary, and it is frequently the case that the 
Christian is there blessed with unusual relig- 
ious enjoyments. He there tastes the sweet- 
ness of the Saviour's promise, "I will not 
leave you comfortless ; I will come to you." 
He is there brought to a state of submission 
to the will of the Chastener, and his feelings 
are moulded by him. His circumstances 
and condition naturally centre his thoughts 
on heavenly things, and frequently prompt 
him to heavenly communion, and his mind 
becomes heavenly. Seasons of spiritual re- 
freshing, such as he has not enjoyed before, 
and such as he has not previously been pre- 
pared to receive, come to him. Notwith- 
standing his physical suffering, it is sweet to 
linger by his side. 

" As a man, who, during the day, de- 



-+}* 



78 Choice Consolation. 

scends into a deep pit, sees the friendly stars 
of heaven, invisible to others," wrote Rev. 
Henry Mowes during a lingering indisposi- 
tion, following a period of terrible physical 
distress, " so, when God allowed me to fall 
into the depths of suffering and woe, I saw, 
through the dense darkness around me, the 
bright star of the Father's eternal mercy in 
Christ our Saviour shining over me. And 
this star was my polar star, never setting 
but ever growing brighter. — Oh, it is a high 
and holy joy to be with our Saviour even in 
Gethsemane ; to bear with him a crown of 
thorns, and, in such an hour, strengthened 
by him, to say, ' The disciple is not above 
his Master.' — To follow him in bright days, 
and to sun ourselves in his love and glory, is 
sweet indeed ; but in days of sorrow to see 
him near, to prove his faithfulness, is a 
precious addition to the happiness of com- 
munion with him; there the bond is drawn 
yet nearer, there the heart presses yet closer 
to him, there the soul lays herself down at 
his feet with fuller love and trust. — For 
every trial the Christian has a heritage of 
comfort, and in every event of life he has 
a mission to perform. In weakness it is 
his to show the power of God." 



K+- 



Choice Consolation. 79 



PEACE m TROUBLE. 
1. 

A MONG the wonders of God's power 
■^- Is that it can bring us peace, 
While the blow we dreaded falls, 
While the joys we cherished cease. 

2. 

'T is not that the stroke is light, 
Or that we should count it small ; 

But the grace that with it comes 
Sanctifies and sweetens all. 

3. 

Yet this blessing is reserved 

Only for the smitten heart ; 
He alone the balm may taste 

Who hath felt the bitter smart. 

4. 

Thou mayest less of sorrow know, 
It may be high heaped o'er me ; 

But a feast for me is spread 

That was never spread for thee. 



80 Choice Consolation. 

5. 
Why should I from trouble shrink, 

Or new woes refuse to bear, 
If they are Christ's messengers, 

Charged with blessings rich and rare ? 

6. 

Not beneath unclouded skies, 
Not midst smooth prosperity, 

Doth it please our risen Lord 

We his form most plain should see. 

7. 

But when storm and tempest blow, 
Then he calls us by our name ; 

While beneath us rolls the flood, 
While around us roars the flame. 

Episcopal Recorder. 



" THERE WERE NO FEEBLE PERSONS AMONG ALL 
THEIR TRIBES." 

/\NE midsummer Sunday, I was sitting in 
^ one of the churches of a famous water- 
ing-place in England. The worshippers had 
assembled, the tones of the grand organ had 
stilled my soul to quietness, when the door 
opened again, and an invalid was wheeled 



* 



Choice Consolation. 81 

in a bath-chair down the aisle. Others fol- 
lowed, until the aisles were filled with the 
infirm, who were rolled in this manner into 
the courts of the Lord. As I saw how 
eagerly they came to get a draught of "the 
water of life," these words of the Psalmist 
came to my remembrance : " There were no 
feeble persons among all their tribes." 

How wonderful was the care of the great 
King in exempting Israel's host from the 
embarrassments attendant on the removal of 
" feeble persons " from a land of bondage. 
Doubtless this very servitude had braced 
their frames to endure the coming hard- 
ships ; their captivity and work had made 
them strong and vigorous. Thus the good 
Lord provides compensations for every situ- 
ation. 

" No feeble persons." At once I remem- 
bered the great army of afflicted souls now 
living, who understand "the fellowship of 
his sufferings," who are never able to join 
in public worship. I do not refer to those 
occasionally detained by illness, or to those 
nearing suddenly "the swellings of Jordan," 
but to the long-tried, who are purified in a 
" slow furnace." In every town, in every 
village, can be found life-long invalids, pros- 



82 Choice Consolation. 

trated by incurable maladies, with crippled, 
deformed, and languid bodies, who are being 
made " perfect through suffering." From 
their secret retirement they cry unto God ; 
many houses have become temples of prayer 
and praise. I recalled rooms, made attrac- 
tive by the ingenuity of friends, which are 
tenanted by the languishing children of sor- 
row; I should rather call them children of 
joy, for often are the inmates " sorrowful, 
yet always rejoicing." 

To my remembrance came a pleasant, 
sunny room, filled with flower-perfume from 
a bow- window of carefully- watched plants ; 
the walls covered with well-selected cheer- 
ful pictures, a bit of statuary under a glass, 
a music-box of sweet harmonies, and hosts 
of souvenirs bestowed by pitying friends. 
Here is a living sacrifice, a temple of the 
Most High. Here, surrounded by tenderest 
care, waiting " for this earthly tabernacle 
to be dissolved," dwells one of those saints 
who come up through " great tribulation," 
making melody in her heart unto the Lord. 
Sabbath-bells thrill her soul with pleasure. 
While hundreds are bowing down in the 
courts of the Lord, prayer from these feeble 
lips is helping to fill " the golden vials." 



Choice Consolation. 83 

Oh we cannot regret the feeble ones 
among our tribes. They help us in fighting 
the good fight ; they encourage us to lay 
hold on eternal life. - Can we afford to lose 
the example of those who " through faith 
and patience inherit the promises ? ' : 

There is a land where can be found " no 
feeble persons," for there the inhabitants 
shall not say " I am sick." Then will our 
feeble ones lift up their heads in everlasting 
blessedness. Such anguish on earth will be 
joy in heaven, for there they rest not day 
nor night. 

For " one of the elders answered, saying 

unto me, What are these which are arrayed 

in white robes, and whence came they ? And 

I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he 

said to me, These are they which came out 

of great tribulation, and have washed their 

robes, and made them white in the blood of 

the Lamb. Therefore are they before the 

throne of God, and serve him day and night 

in his temple." 

» 

TTOLY strivings nerve and strengthen, 
-"- Long endurance wins the crown ; 
When the evening shadows lengthen 
Thou shalt lay thy burden down. 



* 



^ 

84 Choice Consolation. 

UPON SICKNESS. 

YT7HEN sickness comes, and grace can 
^ ' meet it, oh what a just representation 
do they make to the soul concerning the poor 
honors, riches, cares and pleasures, of this 
transitory world ! How unimportant do 
all the struggles for power, splendor, titles, 
wealth and preeminence, which have em- 
ployed the past and present ages, appear ! 
How childish and mean these objects pass 
before us, for which men have lavished their 
time and thrown away their souls ! 

On the contrary, how inexpressibly great 
and tremendous do the things of God and 
eternity rise in full view to the mind. Oh the 
worth of worlds, what are they, in some of 
these soul-searching moments ! How is the 
mind astonished with the grandeur of God, 
and with the deep and wide importance of all 
that belongs to him ! Rapt in the solemn 
contemplation of unutterable glories, how 
doth the mind tremblingly examine and 
carefully inquire into the truth and extent of 
its interest in them ! And if grace seal an 
answer of peace upon the heart, how doth it 
flutter with gladness at its safety, and how 



Choice Consolation. 85 

will the whole frame be agitated with a new 
delight, in the sure prospect of an eternal 
concern in these valuable, these only valu- 
able things. 

The Christian will be wakingly alive to 
all this and more, if his disorder be such as 
can admit of reflection. Blessed be God, 
however, whether he can thus reflect or not, 
yet, being a Christian, his state is equally 
safe with God through his gracious Re- 
deemer. Whatever be the frame, the prom- 
ise is sure, the covenant of God is ordered in 
all things and sure, and sure and faithful is 
God himself to perform it. 

If we cannot think of Christ, through the 
power of disease, oh what an happiness is it 
to be assured that Christ thinks constantly 
and effectually of us. He " makes all our bed 
in our sickness ; " that is, he turns the whole 
frame of our condition in it for our best 
advantage. 

O Lord, leave me not, poor and helpless 
sinner that I am, in my most healthful state ; 
leave me not especially, I beseech thee, in 
the low, the languid, the distressing circum- 
stances of infirmity and disease ! Jesus, 
Master, thou art said to have borne our sick- 
nesses, because thou bearest the sins which 



►>- 



£i 

86 Choice Consolation. 

occasioned them ; take, take away from my 
conscience the guilt which brought disease, 
and then the worst part of its misery shall 
be done away too. And when, through my 
feebleness and disorder, I cannot act faith 
upon thy love, oh catch my drooping spirit, 
carry me as one of thine own lambs in thy 
bosom, enfold me in thy gracious arms, and 
let my soul wholly commit itself and give up 
its all in quiet resignation to thee ! If thou 
raise me from my sickness, grant that it may 
be for the setting forth of thy glory among 
men. If thou take me by sickness from this 
world, O thou hope and life of my soul, 
receive me to thyself for my everlasting hap- 
piness, and to be another monument of sov- 
ereign grace before the great assembly of 
saints and angels in thy kingdom of heaven ! 

Christian Remembrancer. 



TXTE cannot be stationary in our feelings 
* ' towards God in times of great sorrow : 
we either go back from him, and are cold 
toward him, which is a dreadful sign ; or we 
cling to him, and say, " Whom have I in 
heaven but thee ? " R ev . Nehemiah Adams. 



Choice Consolation. 87 



DEADNESS IN PRAYER. 
1. 

f\H. for the happy days gone by 
^ When love ran smooth and free ; 
Days when my spirit so enjoyed 
More than earth's liberty. 

2. 

Oh for the times when on my heart 
Long prayer had never palled ; 
Times when the ready thought of God 
Would come without command. 

3. 

Then when I knelt to meditate, 
Sweet thoughts came o'er my soul ; 
Countless and bright and beautiful 
Beyond mine own control. 

4. 

Oh who hath closed thos£ fountains up, 
Those visions who hath sealed ? 
What sudden act has thus transformed 
My sunshine into shade ? 



88 Choice Consolation. 

5. 

If this drear change be thine, O Lord ! 
If it be thy sweet will : 
Spare not, but to the very brim 
The bitter chalice fill. 

6. 

But if it hath been sin of mine, 

Oh show that sin to me ; 

Not to bring back the sweetness, Lord ! 

But to make peace with thee. 

7. 
One thing alone, dear Lord ! I dread 
To have a secret spot, 
That separates my soul from thee, 
And yet to know it not. 

8. 

But if this weariness hath come 
A present from on high, 
Teach me to find the secret wealth 
That in its depths may lie ! 

9. 

So in this darkness I may learn 
To tremble and adore ; 



Choice Consolation. 89 

To sound mine own vile nothingness, 
And so to love thee more. 

10. 
To love thee, and yet not to think 
That I can love thee much ; 
To have thee with me, Lord, all day, 
And yet not feel thy touch. 

11. 
If I have served thee, Lord ! for hire, 
Hire that thy beauty showed ; 
Oh I can serve thee now for naught, 
And only as my God. 

12. 

Oh blessed be this darkness then, 

This deep in which I lie ; 

And blessed be all things that teach 

God's dread supremacy. 

Lyra Catholica. 



HHHE long afflicted Christian hath the full- 
-*- est and the greatest trade ; and in the 
day of account will be found the richest 
man. Brooks' Mute Christian. 



-K+ 



90 Choice Consolation. 

UPON DEATH. 

f\R how sweet is the smile of that Chris- 
^ tian, who, dying in the body, feels him- 
self just upon living forever ! " He is not 
sick unto death, but unto life " indeed. He 
quits his cares, his sorrows, his infirmities, 
and all that could distress or distract his 
spirit here, and looks calmly into the world 
before him, where he can meet with nothing 
but concord and joy, in the society of his 
Redeemer and Saviour, throughout eternity. 
He is weaned from the earth, and therefore 
can part with it easily. He is fitted for 
heaven, and therefore longs for it earnestly. 
He cannot but desire that which is congen- 
ial with his own renewed mind ; and nothing 
of that sort can truly and perfectly be found 
out of the regions of glory. 

Thou blessed Saviour of poor sinners like 
me, on thee, and on thee alone, my eyes are 
fixed ! In the solemn last hour of my pil- 
grimage below, oh let my eyes of faith be 
yet more steadily and more ardently fixed 
upon thee ! And do thou, in the tender 
compassion of thy heart, which can sympa- 
thize with all thy people's woes, look down 
in my departing moments on me. Oh stand 



* 



Choice Consolation. 91 

by me, my dear and only Lord, in my droop- 
ing and needful moments. Make all my bed 
in my sickness, and overcome the sorrows 
of nature by the lively joys of thy grace. 
Soothe the pangs of death with thy rich 
consolation and care. Receive my spirit, 
which I commit unto thee, as thine only ; 
for truly I am thine entirely, thine by 
purchase, thine by grace, thine by promise, 
thine by the immutable oath of all thine 
holy attributes. Oh carry me to the regions 
of peace, to the Church of the first-born, 
to the city of God, and to Jesus my Lord, 
my life, and my only Redeemer ! Whom 
have I in heaven itself but thee ; and what 
can I desire, throughout all thy works, in 
comparison of thee ! My heart and my flesh 
may fail ; but thou, thou, even thou, art the 
strength of my heart and my portion for- 
ever ! O my God, thus to die, would not 
be dying ; but only departing to live and to 
be happy forever. Christian Remembrancer. 



TN affliction be careful not to go over your 

troubles alone. It is very hurtful to look 

on trouble but as you look on God in Christ 

at the same time. Rev. Richard Cecil 



* 



92 Choice Consolation. 

THE PRECIOUSNESS OF GOD'S CHILDREN. 

HP HE precious sons of Zion are known by 
-*- their submission to God. It is for this 
that they are chastened and disciplined, tried 
and purified ; that, comparable to fine gold, 
they may emerge from the furnace a pure 
and holy reflection of the Divine image. 
This is the great secret of repose amidst 
restlessness, calmness amidst agitation, con- 
fidence amidst dark providences, — the will 
brought into complete subjection to the Di- 
vine will, — the heart beating in unison with 
Christ's heart. The moment you are led 
to see that all is right, that God has done it, 
and that it must be well done, you are 
happy. There is no happiness — not a mo- 
ment's — in opposing God. Fretting against 
his dispensations, murmuring at his dispos- 
als, fighting against his dealings, resisting 
his providences, tossed amidst the waves of 
second causes, is just the uplifting of the 
floodgates of all distress into the soul. But 
to lie down at his feet, as the wheat his 
hand has sifted, — to repose in his heart, as 
the child his rod has smitten, — to drink 
the cup his love has mingled, exclaiming, 
" Not my will, O my Father, but thine be 



Choice Consolation. 93 

done ! " — this is happiness indeed ! Ye 
tried, afflicted sons of Zion, riot less pre- 
cious to the heart of Jesus are you because 
you are chastened. You have argued against 
yourselves, and have impleaded against God 
from the afflictive dispensations of his provi- 
dence. You have deemed yourselves cast 
out of his heart, and out of his mind, and 
out of his sight, — " reprobate silver," and 
not "fine gold," — because he has cast you 
into the " furnace that is in Zion." Listen to 
the language of one who thus reasoned, but 
soon discovered how false that reasoning was 
i — "I said in my haste, I am cut off from be- 
fore thine eyes : nevertheless, thou heardest 
the voice of my supplications when I cried 
unto thee," (Psalm xxi. 22.) Be not hasty 
in the conclusions you draw from God's deal- 
ings with you. Wait patiently until he un- 
veils the purpose, and clearly shows you the 
end of the Lord. " Be of good courage, and 
he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that 
hope in the Lord." Oh the blessedness, 
the quietness, the perfect peace of a cheer- 
ful acquiescence in the will of God ! To 
have a blended will, a united heart, a sub- 
missive spirit with him in his government 
of you, is to be like Grod. There is noth- 

& ; a 



* 



94 Choice Consolation. 

ing more divinely assimilating and Christ- 
like. To be like Christ in Gethsemane is 
to be like Christ in the glory of his throne. 
To drink the cup in his spirit of profound 
submission, is to reign with him forever and 

ever. Rev. Octavius Winslow. 

— ♦ 

CAST ALL YOUE CARE UPON HIM. 
1. 

OLORD ! how happy should we be 
If we would cast our care on thee, 
If we from self could rest, 
And feel at heart that One above, 
In perfect wisdom, perfect love, 
Is working for the best ; — 

2. 

Could we but kneel and cast our load, 
E'en while we pray, upon our God, 

Then rise with lightened cheer, 
Sure that the Father, who is nigh 
To still the famished raven's cry, 

Will hear in that we fear. 

3. 

We cannot trust him as we should, 
So chafes fallen nature's restless mood 
To cast its peace aw T ay ; 



Choice Consolation. 05 

Yet birds and flow'rets round us preach — 
All, all the present evil teach, 
Sufficient for the day. 

4. 
Lord, make these faithless hearts of ours 
Such lessons learn from birds and flowers ; 

Make them from self to cease. 
Leave all things to a Father's will, 
And taste, before him lying still, 

E'en in affliction, peace. R ev . John Keble. 



"HE BORE OUR SICKNESSES." 

O ICK believer ! you are not alone — Christ 
^ is with you. He knows all your weak- 
ness, infirmity, and pain. He understands 
perfectly the mysterious relation of mind 
and body, and can enter into all those deli- 
cate shades and subtile distinctions in the 
mutual operation of the one upon the other, 
which escape the eye even of the most skil- 
ful and vigilant. What is purely mental, 
what is simply physical in your case, and 
how they sympathize and often seem to 
blend, is to him who bore our sicknesses 
when he took our sins, and who rebukes 
and heals all our diseases now, an object 



% — * 

96 Choice Consolation. 

of the intensest interest. Suffering one ! 
Christ is bearing that suffering with you. 
The burning fever, the writhing pain, the 
faintness, the languor, the sinking, — all is 
known to him. The difficulty of concen- 
rated and consecutive thought, your inabil- 
ity to meditate, to read, to pray, the absence 
of spiritual enjoyment, the dimmed evidences, 
the beclouded hope, the fears and tremblings, 
— all, all are entwined with your Redeemer's 
sympathy. His " grace shall be sufficient 
for you." His " strength shall be made 
perfect in your weakness ; " and thus you 
shall be enabled to " glory in your infirmi- 
ties, that the power of Christ may rest upon 

you. Rev. Octavius Winslow. 



LETTER OF REV. W. ROMAINE. 

1VTY dear Friend. Wave after wave — 
■^-*- trouble after trouble — no ceasing till 
we get into the haven. I do not wish you 
out of them, but to profit by them. The 
furnace is to refine gold ; so faith ; proved, 
improved, yea, perfected by trials. Mind 
what the great Refiner says — "I will bring 
the third part through the fire, and I will 
refine them as silver is refined, and I will 



Choice Consolation. 97 

try them as gold is tried. They shall call on 
my name, and I will hear them. I will say, 
It is my people, and they shall say, The 
Lord is my God." O blessed furnace! — 
What ! is this the effect of being put into it ? 
Does the Son of God appear for and with 
his suffering members ? — Does he keep off 
the evil of suffering, — give patience under 
it, profit from it, — deaden the life of sense 
— quicken the life of faith, — and thus bring 
more real good to his people from their trials 
than from all the comforts that ever they 
had ? Say, — It is great, an uncommon 
great trial ; the furnace is heated seven 
times more than it was wont to be heated. 
Still this is not to destroy faith, but to 
refine and exalt it. Our Lord knows the 
needs must of suffering. He loves you 
too well to deprive you of your portion. 
He himself went, and all his go, the same 
way to glory. They drink of the brook in 
the way ; and they drink it out of the cup 
of salvation. True, it is bitter. I find it 
very bitter ; as unpalatable as you can find 
it. But I am praying it may prove more 
salutary to you and to me ; and this it can- 
not do while we murmur and complain. It 
is sent to stop this working of self-will. The 



98 Choice Consolation. 

flesh is impatient, and frets ; the spirit stops 
its rebellion, and says, — " Not my will, Lord, 
but thine be done." Amen ! May this be 
the end of all your trials ! May you come 
out of them like gold out of the fire. 



EXTRACT FROM THE MEMOIR OF THE REV. 
HENRY MARTYN. 

T) Y a sentence in " Milner's Church His- 
■*~* tory," — u To believe, to suffer, and to 
love was the primitive taste," — he states that 
his mind at this time was very deeply im- 
pressed, observing that no inspired sentence 
ever affected him so much. It was, in fact, 
an epitome of his own life, conversation, and 
spirit ; a lively exemplification of which is 
to be found in the manner in which, during 
this part of the voyage, he strove against 
an extreme and oppressive languor of body 
which tended to impede his present labors, 
and threatened to impair his future efficiency. 
— " The extreme weakness and languor of 
my body made me fear I should never be 
used as a preacher in India ; but what," said 
he, " means this anxiety ? Is it not of God 
that I am led into outward difficulties that 
my faith may be tried ? Suppose you are 



-A 



Choice Consolation. 99 

obliged to return, or that you never see 
India, but wither and die here, what is that 
to you ? Do the will of God where you are, 
and leave the rest to him." " I found great 
satisfaction in reflecting, that my hourly wis- 
dom was, not to repine or to look for a 
change, but to consider what is my duty in 
existing circumstances, and then to do it, in 
dependence upon grace." 



JESUS, HELP CONQUER! 
1. 

TESTIS, help conquer ! 
** My spirit is sinking, 
Deep waters of sorrow go over my head ; 
Weeping and trembling, 
And fearing and shrinking, 
I watch for the day, and night cometh in- 
stead : 
Bitter the cup 

I am hourly drinking, — 
How thorny the path that I hourly tread ! 

2. 

Jesus, help conquer ! 

For, fainting and weary, 



l- 



100 Choice Consolation. 

Scarcely my hands can their weapons sustain ; 
The way seems so desolate, 
Painful, and dreary, — 
How shall I ever to heaven attain ? 
Jesus, great Captain ! 
If thou be not near me, 
How shall I ever the victory gain ? 

3. 

Jesus, help conquer ! 
There is not an hour 
Of sorrow or joy but is ordered by thee ; 
Thou dost cut down, 

Who hast planted the flower ; — 
Tempest or calm at thy bidding shall be : 
Look on my sorrow, 

And give me the power 
Humbly to wait till thou comfortest me. 

4. 

Jesus, help conquer ! 
Lord, turn not away ; 
See with what power the billows increase ! 
Give me thy love 

For my comfort and stay : 
Then shall my trembling and murmuring 
cease ; 
Then shall my spirit 



Choice Consolation. 101 

Grow strong for the fray, — 
Then shall my weary heart rest in thy peace. 

5. 

Jesus, help conquer ! 
I cry unto thee ! 
Hardly my heart its petitions can frame : 
All is so dark 

And so painful to me, 
All I can utter, sometimes, is thy name : 
Jesus, help conquer ! 
My portion now be ; 
Though all else should change, be thou ever 
the same ! 



THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM: NO SORROW THERE. 

"Neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain." — Rev. xxi. 4. 
"God," says Augustine, "had one Son without sin; He 
has had no son without sorrow." 

OOK back on the way by which God has 
-" led thee, O traveller to Zion, through the 
wilderness ! If sometimes thou hast walked 
in sunshine, and with the free elastic step 
of hope and joy, how often, how quickly, 
have clouds gathered above thee, and left 
thee to go onward in heaviness and gloom ! 



102 Choice Consolation. 

Thou hast had to cleave thy way through a 
"great fight of afflictions." The "Man of 
Sorrows" has marked thee with the sign of 
suffering. He has made thee feel the weight 
and sharpness of the spiritual cross. And 
how often has it been from the red letters 
of thy trial that thou hast slowly deciphered 
the new name, — " Son ? " 

Would a Christian be without that chas- 
tisement whereof all the children are partak- 
ers ? Would that be gain which made him 
an outcast and a stranger ? Has he not seen 
affliction sealed and bound up with the bless- 
ings of the Covenant, learned how great a 
privilege it is to hear the Father's graver 
voice, and feel his correcting hand? 

Oh blessed affliction ! who deserves thee ? 
Not every one attains to the great prefer- 
ment of trial. For the iron chain of suffer- 
ing links with the golden chain of glory. 
Not only is it suffering, then glory; — but 
suffering, therefore glory. " This light af- 
fliction worketh a weight of glory." These 
are the rough steps by which faith climbs 
upward to the throne. 

Why, then, art thou filled with vexing 
thoughts ? Look forward to the end, when 
patience shall have "its perfect work," and 



& 

Choice Consolation. 103 

witness-bearing, in this temptation, its bright 
reward. 

The toilsome stages of thy journey end on 
the border of the better country. No sor- 
row, no crying, no pain are there ! No an- 
guish of temptation, no shrinkings of fear, no 
tears of penitence, no agony of prayer. The 
cross is lifted off. The bitter cup is taken 
from thee. The trenching and the pruning 
are over, and on every branch of the tree 
which felt the knife, cluster " the peaceable 
fruits of righteousness," the pleasant grapes 
of the vineyard of God. There we are past 
the preface and first pages of the Covenant, 
which teach us what the discipline of Sonship 
is. We are now in the heart and core of its 
blessings, knowing how glorious are the priv- 
ileges of Sonship, how unspeakable its joys. 
We shall cry out no more for sore bereave- 
ment or besetting sin. We shall watch no 
more against an enemy, nor see some evil 
shadow lurk in every pleasure, and feel it 
steal upon our sleep. Our Father's hand 
has wiped away our tears. The Saviour's 
voice says, "Weep not, the clays of thy 
mourning are ended ! ' And the thought 
of past grief and trouble will come to us 
only to sweeten every moment of our rest. 



►v 



104 Choice Consolation. 

For sin, our deepest sorrow, comes not here. 
There, O Christian ! " the evil heart of un- 
belief ' ' throbs no more, and the poisoned 
garment of the flesh has fallen from thee 
forever. 

It will be thy blessedness there to think 
thou hast borne pain and trial for thy Lord. 
For every wound of thy warfare, for every 
talent of thy service, thy Lord will say, 
" Well done ! " For there the martyr, who 
had the baptism of blood, stands next the 
Prince of Sufferers, — him, who thinks the 
crown of thorns not the least among his 
" many 3 crowns." 

" Let us run with patience the race that is 
set before us, looking unto Jesus, who, for 
the joy that was set before him, endured the 
cross." — Heb. xii. 1, 2. 



"NOW IS OUR SALVATION NEARER.' 

1. 

/^\NE sweetly solemn thought 
^ Comes to me o'er and o'er — 
I am nearer home to-day 

Than I ever have been before. 



A 

Choice Consolation. 105 

2. 

Nearer my Father's house, 

Where the many mansions be ; 

Nearer the great white throne, 
Nearer the jasper sea ; 

3. 
Nearer the bound of life, 

Where we lay our burdens down ; — 
Nearer leaving the cross — 

Nearer gaining the crown. 

4. 

But lying darkly between, 

Winding down through the night, 

Is the dim and unknown stream 
That leads me at last to the light. 

5. 

Saviour, perfect my trust, 

Strengthen the might of my faith ; 
Let me feel as I would when I stand 

On the rock of the shore of death ; 

6. 

Feel as I would when my feet 

Are slipping over the brink : 
For it may be I 'm nearer home — 

Nearer now than I think ! 



* 



106 Choice Consolation. 

"I, EVEN I, AM HE THAT COMFORTETH YOU." 
Isaiah li. 12. 

TTOW does God comfort us ? Suppose you 
*■•*■ are in some great trouble, how will God 
comfort you ? In the first place, he will 
comfort you by showing you the necessity 
of that trouble. Do you ever think of this, 
that there is no chance ; and, secondly, that 
not a pang can pierce a human heart for 
which there is not a needs-be ? Not an ache 
can gnaw the frame ; not a grief can pierce 
the heart ; not a shadow can darken the soul, 
which is not permitted because there was a 
needs -be as real as that Christ should die 
upon the cross that you should be saved. It 
is comfort to know that no affliction is ran- 
dom, that no bereavement is accident; but 
that each is permitted or sent because it was 
a medicine essential for our health and hap- 
piness. Thus God comforts us. He com- 
forts us in trouble by revealing to us what is 
the source of trouble. We are told that not 
a trouble can befall us that has not been first 
in God's bosom ; that not a tear can start in 
the eye that he has not first meted, and esti- 
mated, and weighed, and pronounced to be 
expedient for us. Admit for one moment 



Choice Consolation. 107 

that chance is the parent of your troubles — 
that accident is the author of your bereave- 
ments — and what a gloomy place must the 
grave be ! — what a sad heart must the mourn- 
er's be ! — what an unhappy man must the 
victim of trouble be ! But when we know 
that the blow that strikes the heaviest is 
from our Father's hand ; that the sorrow 
that pierces the heart with the keenest 
agony lay in his bosom before it received its 
mission to touch us ; surely it is a truth, " I, 
even I, am he that comforteth you." In 
the third place, God comforts us by showing 
us the end of that trouble. If the sorrows, 
bereavements, disappointments, griefs, secret 
and open, had no end, and no grand object, 
and no great purpose to accomplish, then 
they would be intolerable ; but he tells us, 
" Though no tribulation for the present seem- 
eth joyous, but grievous, yet afterwards it 
worketh out the peaceable fruits of right- 
eousness to them that are exercised there- 
by." He tells us that " all things work for 
good to them that love God ; " and, through 
the mouth of an apostle, he has said, " Our 
light afflictions, which are but for a moment, 
work out for us a far more exceeding, even 
an eternal weight of glory." And therefore 



108 Choice Consolation. 

the necessity, the end, and the source of our 
troubles, revealed to us by God, take away 
the edge of them, and make at least tolerable 
that which, if inexplicable, would be alto- 
gether intolerable. Lastly, he will comfort 
us by delivering us from all our troubles, and 
introducing us into a rest more glorious than 
Canaan ever was, and more bright and beau- 
tiful than eye hath seen, or ear hath heard, 
or man's heart in its happiest imaginings hath 
ever conceived. Dr. Cuming. 



THE SERVICE OF SUFFERING. 

rpHERE are many who are ready, like the 
-*- sons of Zebedee, to take seats on the 
right or left of Christ in his kingdom. To 
be identified with God's glories and judg- 
ments, is something that may well attract 
and satisfy ambition. To come in with the 
conqueror, sharing his triumph, and the es- 
tablished strength and glory of his kingdom, 
may well befit the highest merit, or reward 
the noblest services. For a few, this distinc- 
tion is appointed. But how many there are, 
who, by unnoticed toils and sufferings, must 
prepare the way ! Over how many ungazet- 



Choice Consolation, 



109 



ted names must the tide of victory roll ! It 
is so in every conflict, whether temporal or 
spiritual. It is so with the victories of kings ; 
it is so with the triumphs of the King of 
kings ; it is so in the outward life, and in 
the inward experience of every soul of man. 
This is the unseen service. 

To this service, however, God calls " every 
son whom he receiveth," and by this, perfects 
him for higher services and privileges. God 
would have every one of his soldiers a hero, 
and well he knows the discipline they need. 
It is certain he imposes it for no other pur- 
pose. There is no such thing as an arbitrary 
sentence of suffering against any creature. 
In a world filled by sin, with toil and pain, 
God's children fare with the rest. But, 
whereas to others the disabilities born of sin 
are for " death unto death," to them they 
are for " life unto life." Not a hair of their 
heads falleth to the .ground without their 
father. To this solace, if we are his chil- 
dren, we are entitled. Over time, care, dis- 
appointment, poverty, sickness, and death, we 
have a right to triumph. We are heirs to 
" the kingdom and patience of Christ." 

The service of suffering — how few of 
those who are thus endowed understand the 



110 Choice Consolation. 

great calling, and take its experience with 
constancy ! God calls us : Come up to 
my service — are you ready ? Yes, we are 
ready. But stay, there is a condition : Can 
you drink of the cup that Christ drank? 
Can you be baptized with the baptism that 
he was baptized with ? Yes, we are able. 
Then, as I have heard another say, God 
begins to allot us, his recruits, our high posi- 
tions — to one, poverty ; to another, bereave- 
ment ; to another, long wasting disease ; to 
another, betrayal ; to all, disappointment and 
trial in the various forms of human experi- 
ence. Is it any wonder that some weary of 
the service and throw it up ? 

But to those who persevere, there cometh, 
at last, a time of great peace. It is not long 
before Jesus, who was nigh, though they saw 
him not, makes himself known. The brow 
that is no longer mangled with thorns, 
beams on them divinely ; the hands that 
were nailed to the cross, take hold of their 
fainting arms ; the voice that came through 
the storm, is again heard in the tempest of 
their calamities, saying : " Be of good cheer, 
be not afraid; it is I." Then the soul, in the 
grace of his help, begins first to take upon 
itself the sweet uses of suffering. Then the 



* 



Choice Consolation. ill 

"present affliction, which was not joyous, 
but grievous," begins to bear "the peace- 
able fruits of righteousness." Then the puri- 
fied soul begins to see what dross of sin the 
fires have melted out. Then the strength- 
ened spirit begins to feel what divine vigor 
is springing in the limbs that were so full of 
the weary way. For the service of suffering 
is not forever. But the glory, and the re- 
ward, and the crown are eternal. " For our 
light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory." Examiner. 



"IN THE NIGHT HIS SONG SHALL BE WITH ME." 

Psalms xlii. 8. 

1. 

f^\ O not far from me, O my strength, 
" Whom all my times obey ; 
Take from me anything thou wilt, 

But go not thou away, — 
And let the storm that does thv work, 

Deal with me as it may. 

2. 

Thy love has many a lighted path 
No outward eye can trace, 

* ^ 



112 Choice Consolation. 

And my heart sees thee in the deep, 

With darkness on its face, 
And communes with thee 'mid the storm 

As in a secret place. 

3. 

O Comforter of God's redeemed, 
Whom the world does not see, 

What hand should pluck me from the flood, 
That casts my soul on thee ? 

Who would not suffer pain like mine, 
To be consoled like me ? 

4. 

Happy are they that learn, in thee, 
Though patient suffering teach, 

The secret of enduring strength, 
And praise too deep for speech ; 

Peace that no pressure from without, 
No strife within can reach. 

5. 

There is no death for me to fear, 
For Christ, my Lord, hath died ; 

There is no curse in this my pain, 
For he was crucified : 

And it is fellowship with him 
That keeps me near his side. 



Choice Consolation. 113 

6. 
My heart is fixed, O God, my strength, 

My heart is strong to bear : 
I will be joyful in thy love, 

And peaceful in thy care. 
Deal with me for my Saviour's sake, 

According to his prayer. 

7. 
No suffering while it lasts is joy, 

How blest soe'er it be ; 
Yet may the chastened child be glad 

His Father's face to, see ; 
And oh, it is not hard to bear 

What must be borne in thee. 

8. 
Deep unto deep may call ; but I 

With peaceful heart w T ill say, 
Thy loving-kindness has a charge 

No waves can take away : 
And let the storm that speeds me home, 

Deal with me as it may. Miss Waring. 



W HATEVER our trials are, the strength 
of the conflict lies between faith and unbelief. 

Davidson. 



114 Choice Consolation. 

RESIGNATION. 

TTOW touchingly beautiful was the parting 
^-^ scene between Cotton Mather and his 
wife. Observe his own account of it : — 
" The black clay arrives. I had never seen 
so black a day in all the time of my pilgrim- 
age. The desire of my eyes is this day to 
be taken from me at a stroke. Her death is 
lingering and painful. All the forenoon of 
this day, she was in the pangs of death, and 
sensible till the last minute or two before 
the final expiration. I cannot remember the 
discourse that passed between us, only her 
devout soul was full of satisfaction about her 
going to a state of blessedness with the Lord 
Jesus Christ. As far as my distress would 
permit, I studied to confirm her satisfaction 
and consolation. When I saw to what a 
point of resignation I was called of the Lord, 
I resolved, with his help to glorify him. So, 
two hours before she expired, I kneeled by 
her bedside, and took into my hands that 
dear hand, the dearest in the world, and 
solemnly and sincerely gave her up to the 
Lord. I gently put her out of my hands, 
and laid away her hand, resolved that I 
would not touch it again. She afterwards 



Choice Consolation. H5 

told me that she signed and sealed my act 
of resignation ; and before that, though she 
had called for me continually, after it, she 
never asked for me any more. She con- 
versed much until near two in the afternoon. 
The last sensible word that she spoke, was 
to her weeping father : — 4 Heaven, heaven 
will make amends for all.' " 



"THE LOVED AND LOST." 
1. 

THE loved and lost! " why do we call them 
lost? 
Because we miss them from our onward 
road ? 
God's unseen angel o'er our pathway crost 
Looked on us all, and loving them the most, 
Straightway relieved them from life's 
weary load. 

2. 

They are not lost : they are within the door 
That shuts out loss, and every hurtful 

thing — 
With angels bright, and loved ones gone 

before, 



K« 



116 Choice Consolation. 

In their Redeemer's presence evermore, 
And God himself their Lord, and Judge, 
and King. 

3. 

And this we call a " loss ; " a selfish sorrow 
Of selfish hearts ! Oh we of little, of little 
faith ! 
Let us look round, some argument to borrow 
Why we in patience should await the mor- 
row 
That surely must succeed this night of 
death. 

4 

Ay, look upon this dreary desert path, 

The thorns and thistles wheresoe'er we 
turn ; 
What trials and what tears, what wrongs and 

wrath, 
What struggles and what strife the journey 
hath ! 
They have escaped from these ; and lo ! 
we mourn. 

5. 

A poor wayfarer, leading by the hand 
A little child, had halted by a well 



% * 

Choice Consolation. 117 

To wash from off her feet the clinging sand, 
And tell the tired boy of that bright land 
Where, this long journey past, they longed 
to dwell. 



When lo! the Lord who many mansions had, 
Drew near, and looked upon the suffering 
twain. 
Then pitying, spoke, " Give me the little lad: 
In strength renewed, and glorious beauty 
clad, 
I '11 bring him with me when I come 
again." 

7. 
Did she make answer selfishly and wrong — 
" Nay, but the woes I feel he too must 
share ! " 
Oh rather, bursting into grateful song, 
She went her way rejoicing, and made strong 
To struggle on, since he was freed from 
care. 

8. 
We will do likewise : death hath made no 
breach 
In love and sympathy, in hope and trust ; 



118 Choice Consolation. 

No outward sign or sound our ears can reach, 
But there 's an inward, spiritual speech 
That greets us still, though mortal tongues 
be dust. 

9. 
It bids us do the work that they laid down — 
Take up the song where they broke off 
the strain ; 
So journeying till we reach the heavenly 

town, 
Where are laid up our treasures and our 
crown, 
And our lost loved ones will be found 
again. 

Church of England Magazine. 



TT is sublime to bear the fearful strokes 
-*- of God's providence with meekness and 

firmness ; to endure I have felt that 

terrible calamities are great blessings to the 
spirit of a man who knows how to suffer. 
To such a man, a great affliction from God 
is like a great blast in a quarry, — it throws 
out great treasures, or it opens a way for 
great projects. I revere a man who is in 



* 



Choice Consolation. 119 

great affliction. God seems to have selected 
him, like a piece of second-growth timber, 
for an important work. It is not every one 
who can be trusted to suffer greatly. 

"Agnes," by Dr. Adams. 



THE DARK ANGEL. 

/^lOUNT each affliction, whether light or 
^ grave, 

God's messenger sent down to thee. 
Do thou 
With courtesy receive him : rise and bow ; 
And ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave 
Permission first his heavenly feet to lave ; 
Then lay before him all thou hast ; allow 
No cloud of passion to usurp thy brow 
Or mar thy hospitality ; no wave 
Of mortal tumult to obliterate 
Thy soul's marmoreal calmness. Grief should 
be 
Like joy : majestic, equable, sedate, 
Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free : 
Strong to consume small troubles ; to com- 
mend 
Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts 
lasting to the end. 

Aubrey De Vere. 



120 Choice Consolation. 

ON BEREAVEMENT. 

WHEN a holy and beloved object of our 
affection is removed by death, we 
ought to sorrow ; humanity demands it, and 
Christianity, in the person of the weeping 
Jesus, allows it : and the man without a 
tear is a savage or a stoic, but not a Chris- 
tian. But, though we mourn, we must not 
murmur. We may sorrow, but not with 
the passionate and uncontrolled grief of the 
heathen who have no hope. Our sorrow 
must flow, deep as we like, but noiseless 
and still, in the channels of submission. It 
must be a sorrow so quiet as to hear all the 
words of consolation which our Heavenly 
Father utters amidst the gentle strokes of 
his rod ; so reverential as to adore him for 
the exercise of his prerogative in taking 
away what and whom he pleases ; so com- 
posed as to prepare us for doing his will, as 
well as bearing it ; so meek and gentle as 
to justify him in his dispensations ; so con- 
fiding as to be assured that there is as much 
love in taking the mercy away as there was 
in bestowing it ; so grateful as to be thank- 
ful for the mercies left, as well as afflicted for 
the mercies lost ; so trustful as to look for- 



Choice Consolation. 121 

ward to the future with hope, as well as back 
upon the past with distress ; so patient as to 
bear all the aggravations that accompany or 
follow the bereavement, with unruffled acqui- 
escence ; so holy as to lift the prayer of faith 
for Divine grace to sanctify the stroke ; and 
so lasting as to preserve through all the com- 
ing years of life, the benefit of that event, 
which, in one awful moment, changed the 
whole aspect of our earthly existence. 

J. A. James. 



THE ANGEL OF PATIENCE. 

1. 

rpO weary hearts, to mourning homes 
-*- God's meekest Angel gently comes ; 
No power has he to banish pain, 
Or give us back our lost again ; 
And yet in tenderest love, our dear 
And Heavenly Father sends him here. 

2. 

There's quiet in that Angel's glance, 

There's rest in his still countenance ! 

He mocks no grief with idle cheer, 

Nor wounds with words the mourner's ear ; 



122 Choice Consolation. 

But ills and woes he may not cure 
He kindly trains us to endure. 

3. 

Angel of Patience ! sent to calm 
Our feverish brows with cooling balm ; 
To lay the storms of hope and fear, 
And reconcile life's smile and tear ; 
The throbs of wounded pride to still, 
And make our own our Father's will ! 

4. 

Oh ! thou who mournest on thy way, 
With longings for the close of day ; 
He walks with thee, that Angel kind, 
And gently whispers, " be resigned : 
Bear up, bear on, the end shall tell 
The dear Lord ordereth all things well ! ' ! 

Whittier. 
♦ — 

THE HAPPINESS OF THE CHRISTIAN. 
2 Cor. v. 17. 

ET us consider how happy they are who 
■*^* are in Christ, who are taken out of the 
first, and made true members of the second 
Adam, who in him are created unto good 
works, and so made new creatures : these 
are as happy as the others are miserable, 



Choice Consolation. 123 

as happy as God himself can make them; 
for in that they are in Christ, in him they 
have all things that can any way possibly 
conduce to make them happy. In him they 
have infinite merit, whereby their sins are 
all pardoned and done away, as if they had 
never been guilty of any ; in him they have 
most perfect righteousness, whereby they are 
truly accounted righteous by the most right- 
eous Judge of the whole world ; in him they 
have all the graces of God's Holy Spirit to 
make them like himself, holy in all manner 
of conversation ; in him they have wisdom 
to direct them in all their ways, and power 
to protect them against all their enemies ; 
in him Almighty God himself is well pleased 
with them, and become their friend, yea, 
their most loving and indulgent Father; in 
him they have all the blessings that he hath 
purchased for them with his own most pre- 
cious blood, that is all they can ever want 
or desire to make them completely blessed. 
Wherefore if there be any such among you 
at this time, as I hope there are, give me 
leave in few terms, to congratulate your 
happy state both in this world and the 
next. What your condition is, as to the 
things of this world, I know not ; but this I 

v — ; * 



124 Choice Consolation. 

know, that whatsoever it is, it is the best, 
the happiest you can be in ; yea, God him- 
self knows it, otherwise he would never 
have brought you into it; for he hath that 
special love for his own children, as all new 
creatures are, that he suffers nothing to be- 
fall them that can do them hurt, nothing but 
what shall one way or other do them good. 
If the good things of this life be good for you, 
you shall have them ; if they be not, ye shall 
not have them, for that only reason, because 
it is better for you to be without them ; so 
that you may rest fully satisfied in your 
minds, that all things work together for 
your good; and that nothing can, or ever 
did befall you since your new birth but what 
was and shall be a blessing to you. You are 
blessed in all you have, for it all comes from 
the special love and favor of God to you ; 
you are blessed in all you do, for it is all 
acceptable to God, through him in whom 
ye are ; you are blessed wheresoever ye 
are, for God is always present with you, 
to guide, assist, and comfort you ; you 
are blessed in your souls, blessed in your 
bodies, blessed in your going out, blessed 
in your coming in, blessed while you live, 
and blessed when you die ; for " blessed are 



* 



Choice Consolation, 



125 



the dead which die in the Lord, yea, saith the 
Spirit, that they may rest from their labors 
and their works follow them." You will 
then rest from your labors, from everything 
that is troublesome or uneasy to you, from 
everything that can any way interrupt or dis- 
turb your peace and quiet ; and your works, 
all the good works you now do in Christ, in 
him shall be then rewarded with " an inheri- 
tance incorruptible, un denied, and that fad- 
eth not away ; reserved in heaven for you 
where ye will live with him, in whom ye 
now are, and behold the glory which the 
Father hath given him ; — where, in him, 
you shall be advanced to the highest degree 
of bliss and happiness that ye are or can 
be made capable of; where, in him, ye shall 
see God face to face, and enjoy all those in- 
finite perfections which are in him; where, 
in him, ye shall thus live in light, in glory, 
in joy itself, not only now and then, but 
continually ; not for some time only, but to 

all eternity. Swmon by Bishop Beveridge. 



f\ FEAR not, in a world like this, 
" And thou shalt know ere long, 
Know how sublime a thing it is 
To suffer and be strong. 



b > 



126 Clwice Consolation, 



"REJOICING IN TRIBULATION." 

11 That we should patiently, and with thanksgiving, bear 
our Heavenly Father's correetion." 

1. 

"TTTHEN summer suns their radiance fling 
* ' O'er every bright and beauteous thing • 
When, strong in faith, the evil day 
Of pain and grief seems far away : 
When sorrow, soon as felt, is gone, 
And smooth the stream of life o-lides on : 
When duty, cheerful, chosen, free. 
Brings her own prompt reward to thee ; 
'Tis easy, then, my soul to raise 
The grateful song of heavenly Praise. 

2. 

But worn and languid, day and night, 
To see the same unchanging sight. 
To feel the rising morn can bring 
Nor health, nor ease upon its wing ; 
Nor form of beauty can create. 
The languid sense to renovate ; 
To look within, and feel the mind 
Full charged with blessings to mankind; 
Then, gazing round this little room, 
To whisper, " This must be thy doom ; 



Choice Consolation. 127 

Here must thou struggle ; here, alone, 
Repress tired nature's rising moan : " 
Oh, then, my soul, how hard to raise, 
In such an hour, the song of Praise. 

3. 

To feel declining, day by day, 

Each harsher murmur die away, 

And secret springs of joy arise 

To lighten up the weary eyes ; 

A hand invisible to feel, 

Wounding with kind design to heal ; 

In every bitter draught to think 

Of him, who learned that cup to drink ; 

Again, and oft again to look 

In rapture on that blessed Book, 

Whose soothing words proclaim to thee 

That, " as thy day, thy strength shall be : " 

Then, with changed heart and steadfast mind, 

High heaven before and earth behind, 

Thy path of pain again to tread, 

Till earth receives thy wearied head : 

Oh, blessed lot ! who would not raise, 

In life or death, the song of Praise ! ' : 



(jrOD denies a Christian nothing, but with 
a design to give him something better. Cecil. 



128 Choice Consolation, 



ON SUBMISSION TO GOD'S WILL IN SICKNESS. 

OEEK this day, and every day thou livest, 
^ to suffer all weariness and pain, and that 
through patience to please the Lord your 
God. Should it please God to send thee 
serious illness, receive it from his hand with 
resignation, and be submissive to his will in 
all things. Be careful not to give way to 
impatience, grief, and sadness ; rather en- 
deavor to retain great peace and tranquillity 
in thy soul. Take cheerfully all prescribed 
remedies, and await calmly, by God's bless- 
ing, the success of these remedies, and be 
not disquieted should they not effect thy 
cure as promptly as thou desirest. He who 
has sent thee the disease, loves thee too well 
to withhold thy restoration to health, if it be 
necessary to his glory and to thy salvation. 
Leave him, therefore, to deal with thee. To 
submit ourselves to the hand of God during 
the time of sickness is to make a very praise- 
worthy act of love to God ; besides which, it 
is the only means to maintain peace our- 
selves. He alone is in security who reposes 
in the hands of God's mercy, because then 
are fulfilled the words of the Holy Spirit, 



Choice Consolation. 129 

"There shall no evil happen to the just;" 
he is always in peace. 

Bishop of Brechin'' s Translation from Pinort. 



TN our hours of sickness, of prostration, or 
of weakness, let a childlike trust in God 
through Christ be ever the foundation of our 
comfort and hope. We look on, and all is 
dark before us ; but to the faithful man that 
very dar^n^s is a blessing. It is but the 
pillar of a cloud which guides him by a way 
he knows not. What may meet him as he 
walks along that path, he cares not to fore- 
cast. Bodily sufferings, or earthly sorrows, 
or death itself, may all lie in ambush for him ; 
as to all this, he knows nothing ; but he does 
know "in whom he has believed ; " and to him 
he trusts himself and his w T ith a calm con- 
fidence for all that unknown future. " The 
Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore 
will I trust in him." The root of stillness is 
trust in God ; it consists in looking on as little 
as may be into that future, in looking always 
to Grocl ; and so quieting with the blessed 
thought of him the anxious spirit within us, 

which otherwise must tremble at the edge of 
9 



130 Choice Consolation. 

that misty to come wherein are floating ob- 
scurely, for the eye of every man who peers 
into it, forms of loss and sorrow insupport- 
able. Bishop Wilberforce. 



" I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience ; how 
thou hast borne, and for my name's sake hast labored, and 
hast not fainted." 

TN the epistle before us there is a word for 
-*- you who are sufferers, whether from sick- 
ness, or sorrow, or sin, and patient sufferers 
for the Lord's sake. He says to you, " I 
know how thou hast borne, and hast pa- 
tience, and for my name's sake hast labored, 
and not fainted." Your Lord has known 
many a secret trial, many an hour of sor- 
row and affliction, through which you have 
passed, and which the world has never 
known. For these are sorrows which can- 
not and ought not to be communicated but 
to God alone. Of all these, he says, in the 
language of commendation, " I know them ; " 
I know your every prayer for guidance ; 
your every effort to bear well and patiently 
what I have laid upon you ; and to profit by 
the visitation ; your every endeavor against 



Choice Consolation. 131 

evil ; and while those around us may blame 
us that we have advanced no farther and no 
faster on the heavenward road, he, that mer- 
ciful Redeemer, commends us that we are 
still upon the road, and have not fainted. 

Blunt. 



QOURCE of my life's refreshing springs, 
^ Whose presence in my heart sustains me ; 
Thy love appoints me pleasant things, 
Thy mercy orders all that pains me. 

If loving hearts were never lonely, 
If all they wish might always be, 

Accepting what they look for only, 

They might be glad, — but not in thee. 

Well might thine own belov'd, who see 
In all their lot their Father's pleasure, 

Bear loss of all they love, save thee, 
Their living, everlasting treasure. 

Well may thy happy children cease 
From restless wishes prone to sin, 

And, in thy own exceeding peace, 
Yield to thy daily discipline. 



132 Choice Consolation. 

We need as much the cross we bear 
As air we breathe, as light we see ; 

It draws us to thy side in prayer, 
It binds us to our strength in thee. 

A. L. Waring. 



SUGGESTIONS TO THE INVALID. 

T)ESIDES the personal virtues, the great 
■*~* Christian duty of Charity is in its best 
sphere of operation during sickness ; " that 
Charity, of which perhaps it is the noblest 
attribute, that it ' beareth all things.' ' It 
requires no muscular strength or activity to 
perform this duty in its utmost perfection ; 
but it demands a moral effort which few can 
estimate. In repressing discontent and ill- 
humor — in being gentle, and considerate, 
and patient, virtues are exercised which, 
weighing their difficulty, may be termed 
heroic. " To bear and forbear," may some- 
times, in sickness, require efforts that, in 
other circumstances, would conduct to the 
fagot, or the cannon's mouth. All are 
appreciated by your Father in heaven. 
" Though no one seeth, God seeth thee." 



* 



* 



Choice Consolation. 133 

TF we could, in deep affliction, recollect the 
-*- disproportion between the small cloud now 
passing over us, and the brightness of the 
more distant sky which it hides from our 
immediate sight ; and so could fix our view, 
our hopes, our faith, on the shining day 
beyond it, we might steal some of our atten- 
tion from our present misery, by trying to 
transfer our minds to subjects more worthy 
of their regard ; and, looking forwards and 
upwards, might confidently exclaim, " Thou 
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind 
is stayed on thee." 

— ♦_ 

ON BEREAVEMENT. 

/^VURS is the grief, who still are left in this 

^ far wilderness, 

Which will at times, now they are gone, seem 

blank and comfortless. 
For moments spent with loving hearts are 

breezes from the hills, 
And the balm of Christian brotherhood like 

Eden's dew distils ; 
And we whose footsteps and whose hearts so 

often fail and faint, 
Seem ill to spare the cheering voice of one 

departed saint. 



134 Choice Consolation. 

But oh, we sorrow not like those whom no 

bright hopes sustain, 
For them who sleep in Jesus, God will with 

him bring again. 
Love craves the presence and the sight of all 

its well-beloved, 
And therefore weep we in the homes whence 

they are far removed ; 
Love craves the presence and the sight of 

each beloved one, 
And therefore Jesus spake the word which 

caught them to his throne : — 
" Father, I will that all my own, which thou 

hast granted me, 
Be with me where I am to share my glory's 

bliss with thee." 



Thus heaven is gathering, one by one, in its 

capacious breast, 
All that is pure and permanent and beautiful 

and blest ; 
The family is scattered yet, though of one 

home and heart, 
Part militant in earthly gloom, in heavenly 

glory part. 
But who can speak the rapture, when the 

circle is complete, 



Choice Consolation. 135 

And all the children sundered now before 

their Father meet ? 
One fold, one Shepherd, one employ, one 

everlasting home : 
" Lo ! I come quickly." " Even so, Amen ! 

Lord Jesus, come ! " 



STREAMS IN THE DESERT. 

TT was a new thing in the world when Paul 
-*- said, " Most gladly will I rather glory in 
mine infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
rest upon me." But it is no new thing now. 
Ever since Paul wrote these words, it has 
been the peculiar merit of the Gospel of 
Jesus to increase strength to them that have 
no might. Strong people, in days of glad- 
ness, when the spirit is yet unbroken, may 
be living inwardly by the faith of the Son of 
God ; but it is hard to know it. Other men 
look as strong who have no faith at all. It 
is when the body is weak and sore, or when 
all one's own comforts are drowned in the 
bitterness of a great sorrow that comes in to 
swell over the soul, and surge up to the very 
lips, that the power of Christ is seen, — yes, 
plainly seen, — upholding where else the 



* * 

136 Choice Consolation. 

poor one would sink, and giving a strength 
and cheerfulness that are nothing less than 
supernatural. Places of suffering ; sick-rooms 
where invalids linger ; long, weary night sea- 
sons of pain ; times when death and the fear 
of it darken our door, — these are the times 
and places which make the name of Jesus 
precious, and test the worth of his grace. 
But, for all we have so often seen or heard 
tell of this blessed "power of Christ," and 
how "it rests upon" his afflicted people till 
they grow strong, yet, whenever we see it 
again, we cannot help wondering. For there 
is something so admirable in the weak flesh 
getting the better of tribulation, rejoicing in 
it, overcoming it, and mounting up to heaven 
through it all, — something so past nature, 
that we feel his presence to be very near 
and very glorious. He has told us that he 
dwells in his own saints as in a temple, and 
surely it must be true ; for when the saint's 
body breaks down and crumbles, do we not 
see his glory shining through in an awful 
and beautiful manner, till even a very care- 
less on-looker must say : " How dreadful is 
this place ! This is none other but the house 
of God ! " 

This is what makes it better a great deal 

* 



A 

Choice Consolation. 137 

to go to a Christian house of affliction than to 
the merriest house of feasting. This is what 
gives such a charm to the little book we have 
named below.* It is all about affliction and 
illness ; it never leaves the sick - room, but 
goes from death-bed to death-bed all through ; 
and yet it is brim-full of holy, gushing, ten- 
der joy. For it tells of the " power of 
Christ," and opens so many springs of com- 
fort in his sympathy, his presence, his prom- 
ises, his heavenly home, that it verily makes 
the wilderness of tribulation to run with rills 
of refreshment. " They thirsted not," these 
afflicted followers of Jesus, " when he led 
them through the deserts, for he caused the 
waters to flow out of the rock for them ; he 
clave the rock also, and the waters gushed 
out." 



f\R how much is suffering better than sin, 
^ and victory over temptation better than 
not being tried, and the haven after a storm, 
than to have had no experience of the power, 
wisdom, and loving-kindness of the Lord in 
carrying us safely over every stormy wave. 

* Doing and Suffering ; Memorials of Elizabeth and Frances 
Bickersteth. London, 1860. Am. S. S. Union, Philadelphia. 



138 Choice Consolation. 



BEYOND THE EIVER. 

^piME is a river deep and wide ; 

-*- And while along its banks we stray, 

We see our loved ones o'er its tide 

Sail from our sight away, away. 
Where are they sped — they who return 

No more to glad our longing eyes ? 
They 've passed from life's contracted bourne, 

To land unseen, unknown, that lies 

Beyond the river. 

'T is hid from view ; but we may guess 

How t beautiful that realm must be ; 
For gleanings of its loveliness, 

In visions granted, oft we see. 
The very clouds that o'er it throw 

Their veil, unraised for mortal sight, 
With gold and purple tintings glow 

Reflected from the glorious light 

Beyond the river. 

And gentle airs, so sweet, so calm, 

Steal sometimes from that viewless sphere ; 

The mourner feels their breath of balm, 
And soothed sorrow dries the tear. 

And sometimes list'ning ear may gain 



* 



Choice Consolation. 139 

Entrancing sound that hither floats ; 
The echo of a distant strain 

Of harps' and voices' blending notes 

Beyond the river. 

There are our loved ones in their rest ; 

They've crossed Time's River — now no 
more 
They heed the bubbles on its breast, 

Nor feel the storms that sweep its shore. 
But there pure love can live, can last — 

They look for us their home to share ; 
When we in turn away have passed, 

What joyful greetings wait us there 

Beyond the river. 



THOUGHTS FOR SAD HOURS. 

npO the invalid it seems hard to be doing 
-*- nothing, when work is on every side — 
souls perishing, the labor of others progress- 
ing, and at times the conscious mental and 
spiritual power to work swelling high in 
your bosom. But what is your God him- 
self doing ? Is he not restraining to work ? 
Is he not withholding his Gospel from perish- 
ing nations, permitting the best efforts of his 
children to be crossed, apparently not work- 



* 



140 Choice Consolation. 

ing when a mighty work is to be done ? It 
is not want of love ; it is Infinite wisdom, 
seeing that that work cannot, consistently 
with decrees stretching far beyond onr ken, 
yet all-wise, all-gracious, be done. All you 
think you would do belongs to this work ; 
or, if it does not, it will be done without 
you. Meanwhile you have your work — 
there is one plant on which the Heavenly 
Gardener desires to lavish especial graces ; 
and while you would fain be sowing seed 
broadcast among the farrows, he bids you 
lie indolently, as it seems, beside it, pick 
off each dead leaf, brush away every invad- 
ing insect, train each springing shoot. Are 
his views narrow ? It is but one plant. No, 
it is a plant that is to bloom for ages ! Thou- 
sands in brighter worlds may rejoice in it, 
and none will say too much pains was be- 
stowed on its earliest growth. This plant 
is growing in your heart ; rejoice over it, 
and wait God's time patiently. 

" All things work together for good to 
them that love God, to them who are the 
called according to his purpose." 

In all the catalogue of promises or decla- 
rations which the word of God contains, there 
is none richer than this, none more direct 



Choice Consolation. 141 

and absolute in its terms, yet none so diffi- 
cult heartily to believe. As a speculative 
proposition it is very pleasant ; but when it 
comes to parting with what we most love, 
one beloved as our own soul, or all earthly 
comforts, we ask : " How can this be for my 
good ? Impossible ; it is evil, and only evil." 
But this was not St. Paul's judgment; but 
after a long catalogue of sufferings and mis- 
eries, famine and sword included, and such 
as few now encounter in the worst of times, 
he says, "In all these things we are more 
than conquerors" To have been simply 
conqueror would have been a marvellous 
triumph, but he was more. It takes great 
faith to believe great promises, and great 
trials to make this faith a truly effective 
and all-conquering principle. Those, there- 
fore, who are called to pass through such 
trials, should not regard themselves as the 
most unhappy and most unfortunate on that 
account. Chastisements, though very griev- 
ous for the present, are the means of salva- 
tion and higher seats in heaven to multi- 
tudes. Parish Visitor. 

— ♦ 

PRESERVE me, O God, for in thee do I 
but my trust. 



►:- 



142 Choice Consolation. 



THE INVALID'S SUNDAY HYMN. 

T ET me put on my fair attire, 
-^ My Sabbath robes of richest dress, 
And tune my consecrated lyre, 

Lord of the Sabbath ! thee to bless. 



Oh may no spot of sin to-day, 

My raiment, clean and white defile ! 

And while I tune my heartfelt lay, 
Bend down on me thy gracious smile. 

Let holy feelings, heavenly themes, 
Raise, and refresh, and fill my mind ; 

And earth's low vanities and schemes 
No place nor entertainment find ! 

The looks, the thoughts, the sweet employ 
Of saints, whose treasure is above, 

Be mine to-day ! their zeal, their joy, 
Their peace, and purity, and love. 

My spirit may with theirs unite, 

My humble notes with theirs may blend, 
Although denied the pure delight 

Thy sacred courts with them to attend. 



* 



Choice Consolation. 143 

The faith and patience of the saints, 
These I may exercise each hour — 

When, weak with pain the body faints, 
I best may exercise their power. 

Saviour ! with completion crown 
Desires thou wakenest not in vain ; 

Stoop to thy lowly temple down, 
Bring all these graces in thy train ! 

This is thy day of bounty, Lord ! 

I ask no small, no stinted boon, 
But showers, rich showers of blessing poured 

On me, though worthless and alone. 

If the weak tendril round thee twine, 
It ne'er is hidden from thine eye ; 

1 cling to thee, life-giving Vine, 

Strength, verdure, fruitfulness supply ! 

Miss Elliott. 



ET patience have her perfect work, that 
-" ye may be perfect and entire, wanting 
nothing." Patience may be said to " have 
her perfect work " when, in suffering cir- 
cumstances, inward murmurs are silenced, 
as well as outward complaints. 



144 Choice Consolation. 

SUFFERING, A HIGHER PATH THAN DOING. 

QAUL had anxiously inquired, " What 
^ wouldest thou have me to do ? " Our 
Lord sends his minister to tell him, not what 
great things he shall do, but what far greater 
things he shall suffer. Sufferings are, after 
all, the great achievements of the Christian. 
Where one man is permitted to effect mighty 
things for his Lord, by carrying the words 
of the everlasting Gospel over the burning 
sands of Africa, or the frozen mountains of 
the north, thousands and tens of thousands 
are called to the high privilege of the 
Philippians of old " not only to believe, but 
also to suffer for his name's sake." To sit 
on his right hand and on his left, are not 
now to be given ; but to drink of his cup of 
trial, and to be baptized with his baptism of 
affliction, are still among the choicest bless- 
ings which he bestows upon his people. Be 
not, then, disappointed, if, with every desire 
to do great things for your Divine Master, 
you are denied the power or the opportuni- 
ty. If, as has been beautifully said, " They 
also serve who only stand and wait," how 
much more do they serve who are called 
upon to endure and to suffer ! Yes ; in the 



Choice Consolation. 145 

chamber of sickness, upon the bed of pain, 
you may as greatly glorify your Redeemer, 
as amid the trials of the mission, or the tor- 
tures of the stake : and often does it please 
your Heavenly Father, that while you are 
meditating what great things you shall do 
for Christ, he is preparing the great things 
you shall suffer. 



" Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and 
I will give you rest." 

"\7~ES, there remaineth yet a rest ! 
-*- Arise, sad heart, that darkly pines, 
By heavy care and pain opprest, 

On whom no sun of gladness shines ; 
Look to the Lamb ! in yon bright fields 
Thou 'It know the joy his presence yields ; 
Cast off thy load and thither haste ; 
Soon shalt thou fight and bleed no 

more, 
Soon, soon thy weary course be o'er, 
And deep the rest thou then shalt taste. 

The rest appointed thee of God, 

The rest that nought shall break or 

move, 

10 



146 Choice Consolation. 

That ere this earth by man was trod 
Was set apart for thee by Love. 
Our Saviour gave his life to win 
This rest for thee ; oh enter in ! 

Hear how his voice sounds far and 
wide, 
Ye weary souls, no more delay, 
Loiter not faithless by the way, 
Here in my peace and rest abide. 

Yonder in joy the sheaves we bring, 
Whose seed was sown on earth in 
tears ; 
There in our Father's house we sing 
The song too sweet for mortal ears. 
Sorrow and sighing all are past, 
And pain and death are fled at last, 

There with the Lamb of God we dwell ; 
He leads us to the crystal river, 
He wipes away all tears for ever ; 
What there is ours no tongue can tell. 

Hunger nor thirst can pain us there, 
The time of recompense is come, 
Nor cold nor scorching heat we bear, 
Safe sheltered in our Saviour's home. 
The Lamb is in the midst ; and those 
Who followed him through shame and woes 



Choice Consolation. 147 

Are crown'd with honor, joy, and peace, 
The dry bones gather life again, 
One Sabbath over all shall reign, 

Wherein all toil and labor cease. 

There is untroubled calm and light, 

No gnawing care shall mar our rest ; 
Ye weary, heed this word aright, 

Come, lean upon your Saviour's breast. 
Fain would I linger here no more 
Fain to yon happier world upsoar, 
And join that bright expectant band. 
Oh raise, my soul, the joyful song 
That rings through yon triumphant 
throng ; 
Thy perfect rest is nigh at hand. 

Lyra Ger. 



TRUST IN GOD BRINGS PEACE. 

TTERE is the true secret of peace in this 
-"- world of trouble — to yield ourselves 
always meekly, as the redeemed of Christ, 
to the hand of God, as of a loving Father ; 
to know that this is the especial character 
of our lives, that we are not under a grind- 
ing rule of blind necessity, nor under a harsh 



148 Choice Consolation. 

rod of vindictive infliction, but in a process 
of restoration ; that joy and sorrow are 
mingled for us, as he sees best for us ; 
that our joys are but his love, our sor- 
rows but the deeper tones of that same love ; 
that we are safe whilst he bids the sun still 
to shine around us, for that we are his ; and 
that he will keep us in the dangerous sun- 
shine. Nor do the clouds on the horizon 
trouble us, for they cannot dim that sun- 
shine, so long as he sees that it is best for 
us to walk with him in its glad brightness. 
It may be he will accept our quiet waiting 
on him, and so teach us through it, that we 
shall hardly need the rougher discipline of 
sharp affliction. Or, if our sun threaten to 
go down in darkness, — if the clouds gather 
over it in gloom, — still we are with him ; 
and to be with him is, for every child of his, 
the most really to be at peace. In the storm, 
he whom we love more than life comes often- 
times the closest to us ; and by the blessed 
power of that divine Presence, the world, 
when it is the barest to the eye of sense, 
abounds the most richly in the truest conso- 
lation ; and the sharp edge of earthly an- 
guish grows into the serene reality of heav- 
enly joy." Consolatio. 



Choice Consolation. 149 

THE FINAL REGENERATION. 

"TT7HO can imagine, by a stretch of fancy, 
' ' the feelings of those, who having died 
in faith, wake up to enjoyment? The life 
then begun, we know, will last forever ; 
yet surely, if memory be to us then what 
it is now, that will be a day much to be 
observed unto the Lord, through all the 
ages of eternity. We may increase, indeed, 
forever in knowledge and in love ; still that 
first awakening from the dead, the day at 
once of our birth and our espousal, will ever 
be endeared and halknved in our thoughts. 
When we find ourselves, after long rest, 
gifted with fresh powers, vigorous with the 
seed of eternal life within us, able to love 
God as we wish, conscious that all trouble, 
sorrow, pain, anxiety, and bereavement, is 
over forever ; blest in the full affection of 
those earthly friends whom we loved so 
poorly, and could protect so feebly, while 
they were with us in the flesh ; and above 
all, visited with the immediate, visible, in- 
effable presence of God Almighty, with his 
only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and his co-equal, co-eternal Spirit ; that great 
sight in which is the fullness of joy and 



150 Choice Consolation. 

pleasure for evermore ! What deep incom- 
municable and unimaginable thoughts will 
then be upon us ! What depths will be 
stirred up within us ? What secret har- 
monies awakened, of which human nature 
seemed incapable ! Earthly words are in- 
deed all worthless to minister to such high 
anticipations. Let us close our eyes, and 
keep silence." Consolatio. 



/~\H ! what a mighty change 
" Shall Jesus' sufferers know ; 
While o'er the happy plains we range, 

Incapable of woe. 
No ill-requited love 

Shall there our spirits wound ; 
No base ingratitude above, 

No sin in heaven is found. 

Nor slightest touch of pain, 

Nor sorrow's least alloy, 
Can violate our rest, or stain 

Our purity of joy. 
In that eternal day 

No clouds or tempests rise ; 
There gushing tears are wiped away 

Forever from our eyes. 



Choice Consolation. 151 

This languishing desire, 

Which now for heaven we feel, 
Shall there delightfully expire 

In joy ineffable. 
The weight of glorious bliss, 

That to our share shall fall 
Not angel tongue can half express, 

But we shall have it all. 



EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF MRS. HEMANS. 

T)ETTER far than these indications of 
-^ recovery is the sweet religious peace 
which I feel gradually overshadowing me 
with its dove-pinions, excluding all that 
would exclude thoughts of God. I would 
I could convey to you the deep feelings of 
repose and thankfulness with which I lay 
on Tuesday evening, gazing from my sofa 
upon a sunset sky of the richest suffusions 
— silvery green and amber kindling into 
the most glorious tints of the burning rose. 
I felt its holy beauty sinking through my 
inmost being, with an influence drawing me 
nearer and nearer to God. — Dearest C. 
there comes a time when we feel that God 
has drawn us nearer to himself by the chast- 



-* 



152 Choice Consolation. 

ening influence of such trials, and when we 
thankfully acknowledge that a higher state 
of purification, the great object, I truly be- 
lieve, of all our earthly discipline — has been 
the blessed result of our calamities. I am 
sure that in your pure and pious mind this 
result will ere long take place, and that a 
deep and reconciling calm will follow the 
awakening sense of God's parental dealings 
with the spirit. 



TEARLESS EYES. 

r\ OD shall wipe away all tears from their 
" eyes." The expression is one of ex- 
quisite tenderness and beauty. The poet 
Burns said that he could never read this 
without being affected to weeping. Of all 
the negative descriptions of heaven, there 
is no one perhaps that would be better 
adapted to produce consolation than this. 
This is a world of weeping — a vale of tears. 
Who is there of the human family that has 
not shed a tear? And what a change it 
would make in our world, if it could be said 
that henceforward not another tear would be 
shed, not a head would ever be bowed again 
in grief. Yet this is to be the condition of 



Choice Consolation. 153 

heaven. In that world there is no pain, no 
disappointment, no bereavement. No friend 
is to lie in dreadful agony on a sick-bed ; no 
grave is to be opened to receive a parent, a 
wife, a child; no gloomy prospect of death is 
to draw tears of sorrow from the eyes. To 
that blessed world, when our eyes run down 
with tears, we are permitted to look forward, 
and the prospect of such a world should con- 
tribute to wipe away our tears here — for all 
our sorrows will soon be over. Amidst the 
trials of the present life, when friends leave 
us, when sickness comes, when our hopes 
are blasted, when calumnies and reproaches 
come upon us, when — standing on the 
verge of the grave and looking down into 
the cold tomb — the eyes pour forth floods 
of tears, it is a blessed privilege to be per- 
mitted to look forward to that brighter scene 
in heaven, where not a pang shall ever be 
felt, and not a tear shall ever be shed. 

Dr. Barnes. 
— ♦ 

TN pain, sickness, trouble, methinks I hear 
A God say, Take this medicine, exactly 
suited to the case, prepared and weighed 
by my own hands, and consisting of the 
choicest drugs which heaven affords. 



154 Choice Consolation. 

f\ MOTHER dear, Jerusalem ! 
^ When shall I come to thee ? 
When shall my sorrows have an end ? 
Thy joys, when shall I see ? 

O happy harbor of God's saints ! 

O sweet and pleasant soil ! 
In thee no sorrow can be found, 

Nor grief, nor care, nor toil. 

Thy walls are all of precious stone, 

Most glorious to behold ; 
Thy gates are richly set with pearl, 

Thy streets are paved with gold. 

Thy gardens and thy goodly walks 

Continually are green, 
Where grow such sweet and pleasant flowers 

As nowhere else are seen. 

Oh when, thou city of my God, 

Shall I thy courts ascend, 
Where congregations ne'er break up, 

And Sabbaths never end. 

There happier bowers than Eden bloom, 
Nor sin, nor sorrow know, 



Choice Consolation. 155 

Blest seats ! through rude and stormy scenes 
I onward press to you. 

Redeemed saints and angels there 

Around my Saviour stand, 
And soon, my friends in Christ below, 

We '11 join the glorious band. 

O Mother dear, Jerusalem ! 

When shall I come to thee ? 
When shall my sorrows have an end ? 

Thy joys, when shall I see ? 



THE END. 



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